Kids are not dumb; sometimes they just need help avoiding life’s dumb choices.
Hoping to offer their experience to teens in need, the Queens Health Coalition (QHC) hosted Teen Convention at LaGuardia Community College on Monday, May 10.
High school students throughout Queens received helpful tips on healthy living from professionals who spoke on a wide variety of topics ranging from driving safety, to smoking, to teen dating violence, to landing a dream job.
Phyllis Shafran, executive director of QHC, said that the choices teens make now will affect them for the rest of their lives.
“Many of these teenagers are at-risk of making poor health and social choices, which adversely affect their entire lives,” said Shafran. “We want them to know that they have options.”
The fifth annual event was part of a program funded by the New York State Department of Health, called the Comprehensive Prenatal and Perinatal Services Network.
The program aims to help teens, pre-teens and young adults deal with the demands of their parents, peers, schools and careers. They offer peer education services, including workshops, seminars, one-on-one counseling and a variety of clubs that give kids a place where their concerns can be heard.
The Teen Convention was an extension of those services; getting the word out to at-risk kids and letting them know that they becoming a statistic is not their destiny.
“We don’t want them to become another tragic statistic because of drinking and driving on prom night. We don’t want them to regret having smoked those cigarettes when they reach age 30,” she said. “And, we want them to understand that they don’t have to give in to peer pressure.”
One of the toughest topics for teens to discuss is, of course, anything having to do with sex. Shafran said that in this regard, teens need to realize that sometimes the best course of action is no “action” at all.
“Abstinence is still the best deterrent to STDs, HIV and unplanned births,” she said. “Indeed, the message here today is simple: you can’t be on the top of your game unless you make wise choices that keep you in play.”
