DECATUR - In response to local teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection rates and the sometimes unhealthy messages that enter teens' lives through iPods, social networking profiles, cell phones, televisions and chatter among friends, a group has stepped up to inundate local youngsters with a healthier message.

The Teen Health Committee of Macon County has been formed through the joint efforts of the Community Foundation of Decatur/Macon County, Macon County Health Department, Mental Health Association of Macon County, Planned Parenthood of Illinois, the Community Health Improvement Center, Decatur public schools, Youth Advocate Program, Decatur Community Partnership, Dove Inc., Growing Strong Sexual Assault Center and Weed & Seed.

The committee launched a Web site, www.411teenhealth.com, and has been spreading its message to local groups and organizations, said Lynne Maisel, program director for the Community Foundation.

The Web site features a reading list compiled by librarians, links to sites and blogs, local resources and information on upcoming events, all with a focus on teen health issues ranging from eating disorders to peer pressure and online safety.

The committee also maintains social networking accounts on Twitter and MySpace, with one set to go on Facebook, too. The administrators for those sites are trained teens who work through Planned Parenthood's local peer educator program, Maisel said.

"We're really looking to grow a network of teens," she said.

The committee is also working to host a series of events and workshops for teens and the adults in their lives. They recently held programs on the realities of teen parenting and how to foster healthy relationships.

At a recent relationship workshop at Main Street Church of the Living God, Sandy Laesch of Growing Strong and Joyce Kirkland of Dove addressed some of the Youth With a Positive Direction regulars about such issues as forming a support system, understanding relationship equality and how to prevent, identify and combat physical, emotional and sexual abuse in their relationships.

Other community events are planned to discuss cutting, drugs and alcohol and depression, Maisel said. She said the committee would eventually like to create a speakers bureau that circulates through local venues.

"They've all been really, really supportive," Maisel said of local clubs and organizations who've opened their doors so far. "They see the need."

Next up is the first in a series of quarterly sessions for parents and other adults, "How to talk to your kids about sex, love and relationships," to be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, at the Decatur Public Library.

Halle Fluker, 16, a student at Eisenhower High School, attended the healthy relationship workshop.

"I felt like I needed to be here so I could get more information to help me," she said.

Although she hasn't started dating yet, Fluker said she learned more about the reality of abusive relationships, and she plans to use the information she gathered as a tool to protect herself and her friends in the future.

"I think this is good," Fluker said, adding that she hopes the message will reach a wider audience. "� If they go through something like that, they don't know what to do."

ON THE NET

www.411teenhealth.com

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