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District teens Alexis Franklin, 18,
and Devon Turner, 19, are getting real with their peers.
They are two teen ambassadors with
Metro TeenAIDS, a Capitol Hill-based group that provides resources to help
young people fight AIDS and support each other through peer education.
The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention says nearly 19 million Americans come down with sexually transmitted
infections each year. Roughly half are between the ages of 15 and 24.
But Metro TeenAIDS has discovered a
powerful weapon that it thinks can help turn the tide. The organization trains
teens to go out into the community to teach others about the risk of sexually
transmitted infections and spread the message of safe sex.
Franklin joined the program to help
deliver information on safe sex to her peers.
"That is what keeps me going —
knowing there is information that I know that could possibly save a life,"
Franklin says.
The teen ambassadors speak at
schools, clubs and recreation centers — basically, any place where they think
they can make a difference.
Turner says the ambassadors don't
hold back when sharing information with their peers.
"What I really try to tell them
is guns are not the only things that kill you. Diseases do, too," Turner
says.
He explains the program's
ambassadors can reach peers in a way adults can't because they speak the same
language.
"We keep it real, keep it
honest, we just tell it like it is," he says.
And that can be potent preventative
medicine, according to Dr. Lawrence D'Angelo, chief of the division of
adolescent and young adult medicine at Children's National Medical Center.
"I think that peer pressure for
the good can be a tremendous force at appropriately educating other kids about
the risk of sexually transmitted diseases," says D'Angelo, who was one of
the founders of Metro TeenAIDS in 1988.
He says groups like Metro TeenAIDS
"stand at the forefront" of efforts to reverse the rise in sexually
transmitted diseases among youths.
"There is just no one else who
can do that work and deliver that message in as convincing a way,"
D'Angelo says.
The teen ambassadors speak frankly
about the risky behaviors that can result in everything from HIV, to gonorrhea
and chlamydia. And sometimes, speaking frankly means being descriptive and
graphic, which can be uncomfortable.
"It is super touchy, but the
reality of it is this is the day and age we are living in," Franklin says.
She says if more people were willing
to talk about it — especially parents — the statistics on sexually-transmitted
infections would be very different.
At a session with new volunteers,
Franklin spoke about the importance of safe sex. Though bleary-eyed from a late
night of studying for her high school final exams, she addressed the group with
knowledge and passion about the risks of AIDS.
Turner also spoke to the group and
discussed other sexually transmitted infections, including herpes and certain
forms of hepatitis. The session was a blend of street talk and a medical
lecture. But it worked with the crowd.
When asked to describe his message
in one line, Turner says, "Be safe, be protected and stay alive."
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus.
To learn more about The Friends of
AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
