10 Teen Driven Programs

This one-on-one educational mentoring program was begun in the 1970s. Our goals are to empower young parents to graduate high school and parent well.

Our graduation rate is 84–100% — significantly higher than the national average of 30–40% among teen parents.

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Sexual Health Education

Real Talk for Real Teens

This in-school program on sexual health has reached over 300,000 teens in 48 schools in 5 counties since its inception in 1988.

The Washington County 15–17-year-old teen pregnancy rate dropped from 39/1000 to 12/1000 from 1989 to 2013.

Starting in 1995, this program trained over 20,000 teens to teach younger teens.

Our current curriculum is Respect Online, which provides education into developing and maintaining a healthy social media presence.

This Educational Drama troupe was begun in 1996 and has won 2 coveted state-wide youth drama awards.

Teens create and produce skits and plays relevant to their culture and needs.

This Board of young people from Washington County schools was created in 1999 to provide a youth voice for education and honor teen culture.

Teens from 10 school districts meet monthly through the school year, culminating with a Youth Conference at Washington & Jefferson College each April.

During the first six months of the 25-26 school year, we trained 75 teen board members in Teen Mental Health First Aid, maintaining the evidence-based program's fidelity. Those 75 certified teens then facilitated a youth conference for 132 teens at W & J on April 16, 2026, sharing their knowledge. We are creating teen Ambassadors for Mental Health!

Mentoring

ECHO (Educate Children for Healthy Outcomes)

Since 1999, this educational mentoring program provides one-on-one sessions for young people to empower their self-worth.

In its first decade, we served 721 at-risk teens — only three pregnancies resulted. A 2015–2020 longitudinal study found our ECHO group had a 90% graduation rate vs. 70% for the control group. We have since expanded to serve all youth in need.

We offer a support group for teens whose families are struggling with addiction. Using our evidence-based ECHO program, we are now offering one-on-one educational mentoring for young people who live in families with adults dealing with substance/alcohol use.

Safe Space

The Common Ground Teen Center

Opened in 2008, this teen-run and teen-driven safe space is open Monday–Friday from 4–8 PM.

Teens lead clubs in Art, Cooking, Theater, Debate, and Dungeons & Dragons. The Center also hosts Games Night and Movie Night every other Friday.

This 2023 program provides peer support and advocacy for teens living in foster care.

T.E.A.M. Link connects teens in the foster care system with peer advocates who understand their experience and can help them navigate resources and build community.

Our newest program (2024) addresses teen mental health with a 5-pronged, proactive approach.

We are trained in the in-school evidence-based SOS Suicide Prevention Program and Teen Mental Health First Aid, and our Teen Mental Health Advisory Board shapes programming from the inside.

"Where teens find hope, health, and their voice!"

Teen members of our Teen Mental Health Advisory Board suggested expanding our mental health education efforts to the schools. We listen to teens. We're starting an in-school club called THRIVE this fall, to connect the efforts of our Adolescent Advisory Board Teen Mental Health First Aid trained teens with our Respect Online trained Peer Educators and the students who've attended our SOS Suicide Prevention Program, taught by Amy Podgurski Gough.