Celebrate Ways Communities Support Youth

Published May 2023

OPA Celebrates Communities Working to Advance Adolescent Health

This week of National Adolescent Health Month™ (NAHM™) celebrates communities working to advance adolescent health and opportunities for youth. OPA is highlighting the accomplishments of OPA's grantees and partners that elevate youth voice and prioritize meaningful youth engagement, build on young people's strengths and talents, improve access to services in various settings, and make services and supports more youth friendly.

Many communities already promote positive youth development approaches that support adolescent health. OPA’s grantees design and evaluate creative solutions for improving adolescent health, including:

• Elevating youth voice. Authentic youth engagement in programs provides adolescents with opportunities for growth and self-expression and informs programs about how to better meet the needs of youth. OPA has sought input from youth participants and featured their artwork as part of OPA’s Youth Create! initiative to amplify youth voice. The Youth Create! galleries share young people’s responses, which included original poems, essays, artwork, and videos.
• Funding equity and innovation. The Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) program supports communities in helping adolescents reach their full potential by connecting youth to services and growth opportunities. TPP programming considers the unique needs of adolescents of diverse populations and settings (e.g., LGBTQ+ students, rural areas) and addresses the disparities in teen pregnancy and its related health outcomes to promote equity.
• Promoting youth-friendly health care. OPA’s Title X grantees provide health care services to adolescents across the country. Each year, Title X family planning clinics serve approximately 50.8 million youth.

Support for adolescent health happens across a range of sectors. OPA is part of the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs, which includes 13 federal departments and 12 federal agencies and supports the youth.gov website. There are many federal initiatives underway to promote adolescent health: from increasing the availability of mental health supports to encouraging mentoring and supportive adult-youth relationships to policies that support physical safety.

OPA has resources to help caring adults support young people in their communities.

Voices from the Field 

Every day, OPA’s grantees work to prevent teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), advance adolescent health and well-being, connect youth to services and opportunities, and provide family planning and reproductive health care services.

The Reproductive Health National Training Center (RHNTC) highlights the work of OPA grantees. Grantee spotlights tell the stories of grantees who have developed innovative solutions to common challenges. Explore OPA’s Voices from the Field.

Share messages about National Adolescent Health Month

Please join us in celebrating NAHM by sharing our social media and newsletter messages during May. Don't forget to tag OPA on Twitter (@HHSPopAffairs) and use the NAHM hashtags in your posts: #NationalAdolescentHealthMonth and #HealthyYouthNAHM. 

Tweets:

• This week of #NationalAdolescentHealthMonth celebrates the communities that are working to advance #AdolescentHealth and opportunities for youth. https://bit.ly/3MQ7fcN #HealthyYouthNAHM

• Teachers, coaches, and school administrators can employ a positive youth development approach to engage young people. Learn how your programs can involve youth to have a greater impact from @HHSPopAffairs. https://bit.ly/3MQ7fcN #HealthyYouthNAHM #NationalAdolescentHealthMonth

Facebook/LinkedIn Post:
This week of National Adolescent Health Month™ (NAHM™) celebrates the communities that are working to advance adolescent health and opportunities for youth. Learn how your organization can build on adolescents’ strengths to promote positive outcomes and use a positive youth development approach. https://bit.ly/3MQ7fcN

Newsletter Blurb:
Celebrate ways that communities support youth
During this week of National Adolescent Health Month™ (NAHM™), celebrate the communities that are working to advance adolescent health and opportunities for youth. Learn about how building on adolescents’ strengths and using a positive youth development approach can promote positive outcomes.

Sample NAHM Graphics: 

National Adolescent Health Month™, NAHM™, and the NAHM logo are trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Use of these marks without prior approval by HHS is strictly prohibited.