For many families in Mississippi, 2021 brought heartaches and a range of physical and emotional challenges. Rural youth are struggling without easy access to resources on health and healthcare, including information on sexual and reproductive health, mental health, and youth-friendly healthcare.
Our youth are in a race for their lives. And 2021 has made it crystal clear that Mississippi youth need our support. We’re working to provide the information, resources and support to improve health outcomes for youth in Mississippi.
“THMS helped me to love myself and to understand my worth. Recognizing that I have the power of choice when it comes to my health and that my voice matters when talking to my doctors and my partners.”
Youth Partner, 29, male, Atlanta
A Need for Information
One way we’ve supported communities is by bringing our course offerings to a virtual space. In 2021, our facilitators spent months mastering the art of engaging audiences in virtual and in-person spaces. And that work paid off in a big way.
- We doubled the number of trusted adults attending our trainings from 2020.
- Our youth reached over 1 million individuals on our social media platforms, posting mental health and sexual health videos and other resources.
The increase in training participants and social media engagement shows how our community is in desperate need of information. Teen Health Mississippi (THMS) will continue to answer that call for information and resources this year.
Improving Health Outcomes for Youth
We recently polled our 41 youth partners to see how THMS programs have impacted their health outcomes and outlooks.
- 65% of youth say they have access to factual information about health and healthcare now (compared to just 22.2% previously).
- 67.5% know what to do to prevent STIs (compared to just 31.1% previously).
- 64.1% know how to prevent unwanted pregnancy (compared to just 38.6% previously).
It’s encouraging to see the increase in knowledge and confidence in our youth partners across the board, but there is still more work to be done as we expand our programs and offerings for youth in Mississippi.
“Working with Teen Health Mississippi and Project Mind Elevation has impacted my life in so many ways. Not only have I got to meet new people who know so much about the programs and the information that we work with, but I’ve also gotten to spread the knowledge that I learned to people my age to better our community as a whole.”
Kayle Amos, Youth Partner
The right information and resources have the power to change health outcomes for teens. We’ve seen the impact it can have on a young person’s life. And with your help, we can ensure young people in Mississippi have access to life-saving resources and information.
Join us in helping our youth run and win the race for their lives!
To learn more about our work and impact in 2021, download the 2021 Annual Report.