Date: Fri 24-Jul-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

HIV-AIDS-peer-educators

Full Text:

Young HIV/AIDS Peer Educators Certified

(with cut)

Six Newtown High School juniors spent five days recently in an American Red

Cross-sponsored training course to become certified HIV/AIDS peer educators.

The training, held at Club Getaway in Kent, is called STAND TALL, an acronym

for Statewide Training and Network Development   Teens and Leadership

Learning. Jessica Clark, Kate Ryan, Katie Hayes, Erin Macknight, Katharine

Bobel, and Beth Winton were among 20 youth from across the state who

participated in the HIV/AIDS Peer Educator Program. The Newtown students are

members of Newtown Youth Creating Aids Awareness for Peers (NYCAAP), an

organization sponsored by Newtown Youth Services.

"This was a basic fundamentals course that prepares students to share facts

about HIV/AIDS in a factual, non-judgmental and culturally sensitive way,"

said Jessica Clark.

The course trains students to be able to discuss facts related to sex,

sexuality, and drug use as well as to encourage people to apply the facts

about HIV/AIDS to their own behavior.

"We will be able to go into classrooms (in Newtown) and other schools as peer

educators," Ms Clark said.

About 65 youth attended the leadership camp but the majority of them were

taking the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and basic first aid courses

also sponsored by the American Red Cross.

"The HIV/AIDS class was a 16-hour course over five days but it wound up being

a lot longer because we had a lot of questions and did a lot more activities,

Kate Ryan said. "Our textbook was a huge, 200-plus page book with all of the

facts and fundamentals."

During the training, the students practiced answering questions that might be

asked of them by other teenagers, studied, took tests, and gave presentations.

"We had to learn to keep our own opinions out of the answers," Katie Hayes

said. "We have to follow the material presented in the Red Cross course

exactly."

When not involved in the HIV/AIDS classes, the students spent time in

leadership and team building activities. The cost of the five-day program,

$120 per student, was paid through an American Red Cross scholarship.