Sexual Health for Adolescents Rooted in Equity (SHARE)
Sexual Health for Adolescents Rooted in Equity (SHARE) is a 6-state collaborative committed to improving sexual and reproductive health outcomes among youth, promote positive youth development, and advance health equity for adolescents, their families, and communities through replication of medically accurate, age-appropriate, and evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs. Federally funded by the Office of Population Affairs, SHARE utilizes the evidence-based interventions Linking Families and Teens (LIFT) and INclued: Inclusive Health, Youth Empowered.
Linking Families and Teens (LiFT) centers on strengthening communication and trust between youth and a supportive adult in order to facilitate tough conversations about sexual health and decision-making. LiFT can be implemented as one 6-hour or two 3-hour sessions and is designed for youth and adults to participate together. INclued is designed to be inclusive of all youth yet the curriculum centers the unique needs and experiences of LGBTQIA+ youth, who far too often do not feel represented in sexual and reproductive health programs. INclued is implemented as one 3-hour session with youth. Both programs are rooted in best practices. SHARE also offers the option to receive IWES-developed emotional wellness modules from our Creating a Future Together (CrAFT) program, designed to help youth understand stress, develop positive coping skills, and make connections between emotional wellness and risky behaviors.
RECEIVE COMPREHENSIVE SEX ED PROGRAMMING
Are you interested in having trauma-informed comprehensive sex education classes at your school or organization? We offer direct implementation of evidence-based programming for youth ages 13 to 24.
For further questions, contact: AH@iwesnola.org
Learn more about getting involved in SHARE:
17, 330+
SINCE 2010, IWES Adolescent Health Programming HAS REACHED over 17,000 YOUTH IN LOUISIANA.
820+
SINCE 2010, Adolescent Health Programming HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED IN over 820 DIFFERENT PARTNER SITES.
Student Resource Guide
We know that just because a SHARE implementation has ended, it doesn't mean a young person's questions have ended, too, so we've created a digital Student Resource Guide that includes testing locations for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), text lines and hotlines for sexual and reproductive health information, and other web-based resources. It also has a youth mental health services one-pager highlighting options for young people to support their mental wellness. You don't have to have been in SHARE to get the guide, it's free and available online, so follow the link below to download it and share with your friends!
#askSHARE
Do you know any young people with questions about their reproductive or sexual health that you can't answer, or don't feel comfortable talking about? If you do, let them know about #askSHARE. Our health educators will share videos answering questions they've been asked about sexual, reproductive, and/or emotional health. We'll either reply directly to you, or we'll use your question as content on our social accounts. All questions are kept confidential and you always have the option to submit them anonymously. Click the #askSHARE link or scan the QR code below to submit!
LOUISIANA PARENT ATTITUDES ON SEX ED
Since Louisiana state law doesn’t require schools to offer sex education, IWES partnered with the Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI) and other local organizations to conduct a statewide polling project of parent attitudes and beliefs around school-based sexual health education. We surveyed 600 parents throughout the state of Louisiana and collected surveys with an additional 187 parents and conducted focus groups in the Public Health Regions 1 (Greater New Orleans), 3 (the River Parishes) and 8 (Monroe).
The response was overwhelmingly positive in support of comprehensive sexual health education in Louisiana schools. 84% of parents surveyed believe sex ed is an important part of a school curriculum, and 74% believe schools should be required to offer sex ed. Overall, 80% of parents believe that a sex ed program which emphasizes abstinence but also provides information on birth control should be taught in schools. Louisiana parents also overwhelmingly believe in a trauma-informed approach to sex education, with 87% of parents reporting an interest in including a focus on improving mental health and emotional wellness. We also found a clear gap between what Louisiana parents value and what is happening in schools. 61% of parents surveyed believe their child has received or will receive sex ed in schools; however, state law does not require sex ed instruction or monitor its delivery in schools, so that perception is likely incorrect.
Student & Partner Feedback
Scroll through to see what our partners and students think about our programming!! Participant feedback is collected by IWES staff from post-assessments and site feedback conversations after an implementation cycle is complete.
