CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Department of Public Health kicked off a series of teen summits on reproductive health on March 5, with health department data indicating a rise in sexually transmitted infections since 2017.
The summit titled “Spilling the Tea on Teen Health" collected more than 100 teens from four Cleveland high schools and was led by Cleveland Department of Public Health Director Dr. David Margolius and Director of Nursing Dr. Jeannie Johnson-Brooks.
Johnson-Brooks told News 5 that the summit had teens break into groups, ask questions, and receive information and resources on contraceptives and free STI and Pap testing.
“It’s very important to address it now because teens they go on false information, they go off on myths," Johnson-Brooks said. “We want them to be protected, we want want them to know the risk of acquiring an STI and the risk of pregnancy, we let them know that you have to be responsible."
Johnson-Brooks said the summit also stressed the importance of family communication in discussing reproductive health and promoted giving teens a "life plan" which helps them better understand how early pregnancy can have an impact on other important life goals.
“We do talk about the importance of family participation, family involvement," Johnson-Brooks said. "We ask if they have a responsible adult at home, a lot of times it might not be a mom or dad, it might be an older sister, it might be an Aunt, so we really embrace that.”
"If they want to go to medical school, they want to go to college, how is this going to work, when they see it tangibly written out that goal, we start that conversation that it’s not easy to raise a child alone.”
Valerie Walker, founder of the Teens with Purpose empowerment program, attended the teen summit and told News 5 that teens explained to her they thought the event was an awakening.
“It was awesome, I was so glad that I went, whenever I hear of a teen summit in the city I try to show up," Walker said. “I spoke with teens and I said are you glad that you came, and they said absolutely. And I said are you learning things that you didn’t know before and they said, yes we are.”
Walker also made it clear family communication is crucial in helping teens make the right choice when it comes to reproductive health.
“The more information they have, it helps them make better decisions," Walker said. “You are the parent you are the authority, but you have to sit down with them and talk about things and you have make it engaging and exciting, you have to come with a strategic plan.”
The Cleveland Department of Health said it plans to hold another teen summit later in 2024 and pointed to additional resources at the J. Glen Smith Health Center.
