Peers Educating Peers for Positive Social Change
Together with the Ohio Department of Health, ProMedica Russell J. Ebeid Children's Hospital is proud to sponsor Teen Peers Educating Peers (Teen PEP). Designed to educate young people about important social matters, this program has been effective for more than 25 years in Toledo area schools.
- Bullying prevention.
- Mental health and wellness.
- Sexual assault prevention.
- Social justice.
- Teen dating violence and healthy relationships.
By customizing each school's program, we keep the material relevant to situations its students face every day. With Teen PEP Student Leaders exercising their constructive influence over younger students, we not only help create a school environment where responsible decisions are respected and valued, we help create a new generation of leaders.
Tackling Important Social Issues, One Teen at a Time
Teen PEP is currently in a variety of high schools — urban, suburban and rural — across northwest Ohio. While the program focuses on youth ages 11-18, most of its workshops are concentrated on 8th and 9th grade students. However, most teams elect to also engage in school-wide campaigns to increase their impact and reach
For more information, please contact us at 419-291-3483.Working As a Team to Create Change
Through Teen PEP, program staff members work with students and school administrators to:
Equip older teens to serve.Collaborating with personnel in each of our participating schools, we assemble teams of students who are trusted by their peers. These trusted students are invited to participate in training offered at the hospital, designed to help them understand important social issues, equip them to educate and offer advice to younger peers facing these issues and help them develop as positive role models and leaders.
Understand each school's unique needs.Once these student mentors are trained and in place, we work with school administrators to identify the issues that are most important in their school. This discussion helps inform which program topics will be covered.
Facilitate relevant, timely and healthy discussions.During Teen PEP program time, student leaders facilitate workshops consisting of role plays and interactive educational activities, followed by in-depth discussion of each topic. A hospital staff member is present during most of these activities to support and monitor the presentation. However, the goals is to create a no-lecture, judgment-free space where teens can have open and organic conversations, therefore the focus is on youth presence with minimal adult participation.