Youth Sexual Health Program
Overview
Working together as your organization’s vested strategic partner, Trailhead Institute’s goal is to become a trusted, centralized, multi-sector, go-to resource for youth sexual health, education and resources across Colorado as a way to connect initiatives, dismantle silos, and build seamless synergy across health topics. We operate and implement programming based on the belief that every young person has the right to receive medically accurate information so that they are empowered to make informed decisions about their own sexual health.
In 2018, Trailhead integrated the Youth Sexual Health Program formerly housed at Colorado Youth Matter (CYM) into its larger scope of work after CYM announced it would be closing its doors in December of 2017. Trailhead began this integration process by initiating a comprehensive, multi-sector environmental scan in January of 2018 that engaged stakeholders, organizations and young people most connected to and impacted by the youth sexual health field. This scan determined how to move the work forward in Colorado, identifying numerous priorities for Trailhead. These priorities included:
- Advancing statewide access to comprehensive sex education program implementation
- Ensuring statewide coordination and partnership building among clinical and community providers engaged in youth sexual health education and care provision
- Developing a centralized repository of youth sexual health resources and clinical and community services available across the state
- Advancing integrated and authentic youth engagement
- Advocating for and securing long-term, multi-year funding
Through our Youth Sexual Health Program, we support organizations, collaboratives, communities and school districts in increasing access to comprehensive sexual health education for young people using an approach that is collaborative and community-driven. This white paper details that approach and provides information on how your community can become engaged in our work.
Adrienne Gomez (she/her)
Senior Program Manager
Ocean Candler (they/them)
Senior Program Coordinator
Reimaging the State of Adolescent Sexual Health Report
For over a decade, the SASH report has provided a summary of up-to-date statistics on the sexual health of young people and a brief snapshot of how Colorado’s progress compares to national trends over time. While this quantitative data has value and can inform policies and programs that support the health and well-being of Colorado youth, it is also limited in its expression and depth, and fails to capture a nuanced, intersectional understanding of what young people experience and need from their sexual health education.
Evolving from what has been, the 2023 SASH report exclusively focuses on the systems that govern and influence the experiences that young people have with sexual health, recognizing that sexual health outcomes and personal development improve when the systems responsible for delivering care, access, and education reflect the humanity and diversity of young people.
Download Trailhead’s introduction to the 2023 SASH report, and learn more through the website below.
Reimagining the SASH would have never come to fruition without the generosity of numerous partners who are highlighted on the SASH report website. Trailhead’s partnership with Tomei Kuehl and Talia Cardin of Consulting Within Your Context, the Youth Sexual Health Program Board, and the ReproCollab has brought us incredible joy and we are grateful for the knowledge and lived experience that our partners and members of the Youth Sexual Health Program Board have brought to this work.
The Youth Sexual Health Alliance
Trailhead Institute has built a statewide Alliance of community-led organizations including educators, district administrators, health care providers, local public health departments, advocacy groups and other key stakeholders, in order to better coordinate our efforts across the state and increase referral linkages between schools, clinics, and communities. These coordinated efforts around youth sexual health include but are not limited to sex education and community engagement best practices. Join us! Contact Adrienne Gomez at agomez@trailhead.institute for information regarding membership criteria.
Explore the Resources Guiding Our Work
Through the Youth Sexual Health Program, Trailhead aims to serve as a trusted go-to resource for youth sexual health education and resources across Colorado. Included through the button below are a growing collection of resources that have been developed through or in collaboration with Trailhead’s Youth Sexual Health Program and inform our work across the state.
Contribute to the Youth Sexual Health Mapping Resource
Trailhead Institute hosts an online Youth Sexual Health resource map that features youth-positive comprehensive sex education, training and resources as well as youth sexual health services across the state. This resource aims to strengthen coordination between schools, clinics, and communities. If you are interested in adding your organization to this resource map, please fill out this form or contact Adrienne Gomez at agomez@trailhead.institute for information regarding criteria.
As Featured in Trailhead’s Newsletter
Learn more about the Youth Sexual Health Program through past newsletters.
Explore Our Projects
- Administrative Partnerships
- Youth Sexual Health
- Community Engagement
- Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger