The Pregnant and Parenting Teen Speakers Panel is a new teen pregnancy prevention program in Washoe County, Nevada. Teen pregnancy prevention efforts are particularly important in Nevada. Since the early nineties, the state has ranked among the five states in the nation with the highest teen pregnancy rates among girls between the ages of 15 and 19. Students of the Washoe High School Cyesis Program, a school for teen mothers, volunteer as speakers. They talk about their experience to churches, community organizations, juvenile detention centers, and other places that serve young people.
Speakers talk candidly about what it really means to be a teen parent.
In addition to the teen speakers, a public health nurse is also present. The purpose of the program is to motivate and empower young people to realize their full potential and the promising opportunities that result from delaying pregnancy until they are emotionally, physically, and financially secure enough to assume these responsibilities. They are mainly from the U.S. but some are from other countries. They respond to questions sent to them and also write articles and share other things of interest. There are several responses to each question, providing a wide range of opinions and ideas.