During seventh period today, students met in Room 204 to have training to facilitate Teen Talk meetings at school. Teen Talk is a program meant to help adolescents in middle school and high school to “make better choices regarding their health and safety,” as stated on the Community Awareness Health Counsel (CHAC) website.

After the E3 Youth Philanthropy Board suggested the idea, CHAC set up the program at the school. Students can talk about their current issues and they direct the topics of the conversation.

Teen Talk was first implemented in Egan and Blach Junior High schools, when teens met once a week for eight weeks at school during lunch. Because the junior high program was successful, junior Yasmeen Serhan and sophomore Alyssa Wemyss, representatives from E3 Youth Philanthropy, worked together with the advisors of the S.O.S. club at LAHS to bring Teen Talk here.

Dr. Christina Galloway, CHAC’s Teen Talk Director, came to lead the training. Alyssa said that those who attended the Teen Talk meeting trained to facilitate future Teen Talk meetings at school as peer counselors.

The training lasted approximately one and a half hours. Trainees learned some icebreakers, received a book with curriculum, and were taught when a conversation goes too far and the importance of confidentiality.
Those who attended the training included four teachers and counselors, as an adult must be present during future Teen Talk meetings, which are scheduled to start in late January and will be held for once a week for eight weeks. The exact dates for the Teen Talk meetings have not been set yet as they will depend on the participants’ schedules.

The Teen Talk leaders also planned to include community experts to discuss alcohol and drugs with Teen Talk participants.