By Jessica Higgins, Communications Coordinator
June 22, 2017

The first thing that struck me about Loretta Ross was her total lack of fear. She cussed like a sailor, grinned toothily, laughed often. She was the keynote speaker at the Colorado Advocacy in Action Conference – a conference dedicated to sexual assault and domestic violence – but stayed seated throughout the entire speech, wryly noting that there wasn’t a chance she was going to stand for a whole hour.

By Jill Conway, Capacity Building Manager
June 15, 2017

When we think of teen parents, we typically think of teen mothers. Frequently, fathers are left out of the conversation and aren’t provided with positive guidance and support to become an effective parent. Part of this dynamic comes from research showing that many teen mothers have children fathered by adult men. Still, 30 to 50% of children born to teen mothers have a teenage father. With Father's Day coming up in just a few days, now is the perfect opportunity to think about how we can better serve teen fathers. As youth service providers implementing sexual health education in the classroom, it’s important to recognize the role that young fathers can play in raising children, and understand the unique circumstances young fathers face.

By Becca Bolden, Director of Grants Management
June 1, 2017

The days are heating up and school’s out for summer! For young people, summer brings possibilities of freedom: endless time to spend with friends and partners at swimming pools, malls, amusement parks, playing video games. While students might be thrilled to be out of school, the summer months also limit their access to sex education and resources. With school out for the summer, where can students go for support?

By Jill Conway, Capacity Building Manager
May 18, 2017

As research and sexual health curricula have changed with growing evidence over the years, sexuality education has been moving towards a more inclusive approach. However, there is still a lot of room for growth, especially in the realm of bisexuality. Bisexuals make up 52% of the LGBTQIA+ community, yet we rarely discuss bisexuality, if at all.

By Jessica Higgins, Communications Coordinator
May 4, 2017

Image Credit: George Spigot's Blog

Happy Star Wars Day! Those of you who aren’t big nerds might be wondering, “What is Star Wars Day? And why is Colorado Youth Matter talking about Star Wars in a blog?” To the first question, May the Fourth is Star Wars Day because apparently Star Wars fans like puns: May the Fourth be with you (it’s followed by May the Fifth, or “Revenge of the Fifth”). And to the second question: it’s no secret that mass media influences youth. It can empower them, and it can equally disempower them. There’s been plenty written on this subject already, and there will inevitably be plenty more. But in honor of Star Wars Day, I wanted to examine the influence cult television shows and movies have on youth sexual health and empowerment. So for this week’s blog, CYM is going to get a little bit nerdy, and it starts with an article I stumbled upon several months back.

By Andrea Miller, Executive Director
April 27, 2017

In our final blog for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, CYM's Executive Director, Andrea Miller, discusses the personal responsibility she feels as a parent to discuss issues around consent and sexual violence with her children. 

CONTENT WARNING: This blog contains discussions of sexual violence. 

By Jill Conway, Capacity Building Manager
April 19, 2017

In our third blog for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Jill Conway describes her experience in high school, and the knowledge she wishes she could've had. 

TRIGGER WARNING: This blog contains descriptions of sexual assault. 

By Jessica Higgins, Communications Coordinator
April 6th, 2017

In honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month 2017, all of Colorado Youth Matter's blogs in the month of April will be focused on issues surrounding sexual assault, including personal stories and insights from our staff. To kick off SAAM, Jessica Higgins discusses her personal story and why it has forced her to reexmaine what it means to be "aware" of sexual assault. 

TRIGGER WARNING: This blog contains descriptions of sexual assault. 

By Andrea Miller, Executive Director
March 29, 2017

Last week, the American Health Care Act as a repeal and replacement for the ACA failed to attain the necessary votes. While this was a huge victory, unfortunately the collapse of the AHCA does not mark the end of the health care debate. 

When it comes to youth sexual health education, it’s good to pause and remember that this work should always be grounded in youth experiences and youth insights. That’s why the work of Kids First Health Care - a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to improving the health and well-being of infants, children, and youth - is so impressive. Maria Zubia and Jordan Goto from Kids First are here to tell us more!

March 2, 2017

Colorado Youth Matter has a new Capacity Building Manager! With a passion for social justice, an incredible two years of service in Albania with the Peace Corps, and experience teaching the TOP curriculum in Illinois, Jill Conway is an exciting addition to CYM's team - and we wanted you to know a little more about her. That's why we sat down with Jill to learn more about her experiences, her opinions, and her passions.

By Andrea Miller, Executive Director
February 23, 2017

We’re only two months into 2017, but those two months have been a whirlwind of near-constant change. The transition from President Obama’s administration to President Trump’s has been a bit rocky, to say the least, and a shock to the country’s system. Politicians seem to have lost their sense of direction, more beholden to big money than to their constituents; meanwhile, leaks and political scandals have been relentless, hitting the media at a breakneck pace. This undefined noise has permeated all aspects of daily life, and has forced all of us - as individuals and as communities - to reassess priorities and to adapt to this new reality.

February 16, 2017

Did you know that one in three adolescents in the United States has experienced physical, sexual, emotional, or verbal abuse from a dating partner? Or that nearly 1.5 million high school students nationwide experience physical abuse from a dating partner in a single year?

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, and to shed light on this important issue we decided to ask an expert about it. Michelle Gagnon is a Domestic Violence Advocate with SafeHouse Denver. We sat down with Michelle and got her perspective on teen dating violence and the role sex ed and trusted adults can play.

Andrea Miller, Executive Director
January 26, 2017

On January 21st, 2017, over 200,000 peaceful protestors marched to Denver’s Civic Center Park. Cheers rolled over the crowd like waves, starting at the front and traveling whole city blocks as the women’s march moved through the city. An electric urgency and sense of purpose crackled throughout the day. Together with our children, neighbors, and partners, we marched for our freedoms, for our rights, and for our future.

Image credit: J. Higgins, Colorado Youth Matter

Decades of research show that when it comes to youth sexual health education, there’s no competition.