Case Western Reserve University’s Infectious Diseases Alliance graduated its second group of teen peer educators in February. ID Alliance peer educators participated in training, facilitated by Brynne Presser of the Division of Infectious Disease and HIV Medicine, since July 2013.
Peer educators are trained local teens who serve to educate their peers about sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention, local testing resources and sexual health.
As their first responsibility, the peer educators participated in the inaugural Health “Kickback” at Thwing Center on Friday, Feb. 28. This event was created and sponsored by the Cleveland Department of Public Health in conjunction with CWRU’s ID Alliance. Students from Collinwood and Glenville High Schools were invited to participate in this one-day symposium. The event aimed to equip local teens with much needed information regarding teen sexual health and STI prevention and to link them to the CWRU campus and community.
Guest speakers from the LGBT Center of Greater Cleveland, CWRU’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunity, CWRU’s LGBT Center, the J. Glen Smith Health Center, CWRU’s Office of Undergraduate Admission, the ID Alliance and the Fatherhood Initiative presented to more than 50 local teens.
ID Alliance Peer Educators served as group leaders and facilitated small group discussions with participating students. The event aimed to educate and empower teens to make healthy decisions, and to become aware of local resources available to them.
For more information about the ID Alliance, visit IDAlliance.org or e-mail IDAlliance@case.edu. The ID Alliance is led by Amanda Healan, instructor at the School of Medicine, and Robert Salata, professor at the School of Medicine, both of whom work within the Division of Infectious Diseases and HIV Medicine.