Youth Empowerment Adolescent Health Network

The YEAH! (Youth Empowerment Adolescent Health) Network started in 2006 as a community coalition, working to motivate the leaders of communities in Hampden County to address the high teen birth rates in local cities. Using research, advocacy, and community education, the YEAH! Network is building relationships with local, state, and national innovators and leaders in teen pregnancy prevention. By articulating a common agenda among diverse stakeholders, the YEAH! Network is creating a forum for community stakeholders to organize and share resources in their effort to create an informed, empowered, and engaged response to teen pregnancy and other youth reproductive health disparities. We Believe: • Adolescents have a right to accessible, comprehensive, confidential, medically accurate reproductive health information. • Collaboration of all community sectors including youth, families, government, businesses, churches and community groups is essential in reducing teen pregnancy. • Youth and adults have a shared responsibility to break the cycle of teen pregnancy. • Youth are capable of making responsible decisions about sexuality. • Successful teen pregnancy prevention efforts should build on young people’s strengths as well as address risk factors in their lives.