By Ruthie Kolb, Training Manager
September 29, 2016

What does it mean to be trauma-informed when talking with young people about sexuality? Does it mean using lots of trigger warnings? Do you just need to avoid certain topics, words, or conversations? Or does it mean not talking about sensitive subjects, such as sexuality, at all? What exactly does it look like?

It’s not an easy question to answer, but it’s a topic that’s extremely relevant to the work of sex educators today. The reality is that topics around sex, sexuality, and sexual health are often directly related to traumatic events – which means we have to be extremely conscious of how these topics might harm students with past traumatic experiences.

By Holly Ponton, Capacity Building Manager
September 15, 2016

Our Raising the Bar conference is coming up in just a few weeks, providing teachers, clinicians, and other youth-serving professionals with an opportunity to strategize for the future of youth sexual health. We’ll discuss LGBT inclusivity, trauma-informed approaches, how to incorporate an understanding of technology into sex ed, and much more. In short, we’ll come together and dream up how to make the world better for youth – and then we’ll return to our communities and strive to make those strategies a reality.

And in the spirit of Raising the Bar, let’s dream big – really, really big. Because what if sex ed could prevent violence – not just domestic or intimate partner violence, but all kinds of violence? What if it could hinder prejudice, cruelty, fear of difference – what if it could change the entire world?

September 1, 2016

Colorado Youth Matter had a chance to catch up with Nora Gelperin, director of sexuality education and training at Advocates for Youth, on how she got into the field of youth sexual health, what sets Advocates for Youth's "Rights. Respect. Responsibility," or "The 3Rs," sex ed curriculum apart from other curricula, and how she views the current state of youth sexual health.

By Lisa Olcese, Executive Director
August 25, 2016

As I approach my last week as executive director, I’d like to close with a vision for the future, rooted in something that’s been bugging me. And because I won’t just leave it at that, I invite you to join me in a personal call to action.

By Stefanie Winfield, Community Programs Director
August 18, 2016

It’s that time of the year again: that time when kids and youth grumpily accept that summer is coming to an end – and when parents rejoice that their kids are going back to school.

It’s also that time of so many back-to-school lists: what clothing will they need for the year? What books? What supplies? There are endless runs to Staples and Target – for backpacks, pencils, pens, notebooks, folders, and all manner of miscellaneous materials – in the hopes of being fully prepared for what a new year of academics will have in store.

These back-to-school lists can be life-saving. They help parents keep track of what needs to be accomplished before a new, busy school year begins. In the spirit of back-to-school supply lists, we here at Colorado Youth Matter would like to offer a back-to-school list of our own – a sex ed supply list.

A message from Michelle Fuller, CYM Board Chair:

August 15th, 2016

Since Lisa joined CYM in August 2009, she has shared a strong passion for youth sexual health and a commitment to community partnerships with the staff and board that has only strengthened the organization. Which is why it is with sincere gratitude, sadness and hope that I announce that Lisa will be moving on to pursue her other passions as of August 31st, 2016.

By Jessica Higgins, Communications Coordinator
August, 4 2016

Colorado Youth Matter’s Raising the Bar conference is coming up! We couldn’t be more excited, and we hope you’ll be joining us to celebrate recent advancements in youth sexual health – like the fact that more schools than ever are teaching comprehensive sex ed, and that unintended teen birth rates and abortions are dropping.

But despite these reasons to celebrate the advancement of youth sexual health in our state, there are still many challenges ahead. So in the spirit of Raising the Bar for youth sexual health and education, let’s talk about one big way we can better serve our youth in their sexual health education: inclusivity of refugees, immigrants, and different cultures in our classrooms.

By Becca Bolden, Research and Evaluation Manager
July 21st, 2016

You can purchase a SASH report here.

We are pleased to announce the release of Colorado Youth Matter’s 2016 State of Adolescent Sexual Health Report this month. The SASH Report has been, and continues to be, a cornerstone of our work and the work of our partners; highlighting our state’s progress against national trends while also clearly illuminating where there is more work to be done in the fight against disparities. We frame the data in the context of recommendations as a call to action to improve the health for Colorado’s young people.

July 14th, 2016

Amy Adele Hasinoff is an Assistant Professor in the Communication department at the University of Colorado Denver. Her book, Sexting Panic (2015), is about the well-intentioned but problematic responses to sexting in mass media, law, and education. Her research also appears in journals such as New Media & Society, Critical Studies in Media Communication, and Feminist Media Studies. Colorado Youth Matter is thrilled for Amy to be presenting at our Raising the Bar Conference this October!

July 7th, 2016

Andrea Gerber, MSEd, and Kari Kesler, MA, are the lead authors of the FLASH curriculum, a widely used sexual health education curriculum. Ms. Gerber has extensive knowledge of curriculum development, project management, and pregnancy and STD prevention. She has overseen material development projects and has led countless teacher trainings on sexual health education. Ms. Kesler has been a Family Planning Health Educator with Public Health–Seattle & King County for over 10 years. She has also worked as a sexual violence prevention educator and as a college instructor. She has designed and led projects designed to lower teen pregnancy, STD and HIV rates in various communities.

After this year’s FLASH training, we had the opportunity to chat with Ms. Gerber and Ms. Kesler about their own experiences with sex education, their inspiration and theory behind FLASH, and why this curricula is so unique.

By Executive Director Lisa Olcese
June 30, 2016

In light of recent events, I feel it necessary to offer a blog that is more reflective in nature and hopefully will spark some conversation and thought. On June 12th, 2016, 49 people were killed and 53 injured when fired upon by a lone gunman at a nightclub in Orlando targeting the LGBTQ community. On June 23rd SCOTUS declared a tie on President Obama’s DACA and DAPA executive orders, not only sending thousands of immigrant families into an unknown flurry of vulnerability and confusion, but challenging the President's authority to execute executive orders. On June 24th, President Obama declared Stonewall Inn as a National Monument, the first national monument dedicated to the struggle for LGBT rights. On June 27th, the US Supreme Court struck down an extremely harmful law in Texas that aimed to restrict and ultimately close all abortion care clinics in Texas that would have caused women to travel hundreds of miles to receive this service.

By Ruthie Kolb, Training Manager
June 23, 2016

Students with disabilities are people.

While this is theoretically stating the obvious, often educators and caregivers shy away from acknowledging the sexuality of people with disabilities. This omission undermines the foundational tenant of their personhood. To educate the full health of people with disabilities, we must include and acknowledge them in our sexuality education.

By Stefanie Winfield, Senior Capacity Building Manager
June 16th, 2016

So your kids are done with school, and are fully embracing summer life - spending time with friends or love interests, staying up a little later and sleeping in a little more. You’ve already addressed sex ed outside of the classroom, and provided your kids with valuable resources for where to go for medically accurate answers to their sensitive questions. They are informed and prepared to make healthy decisions about their bodies.

While education is a big part of sexual health, it is not the whole picture - what about accessing health services?

By Lisa Olcese and Holly Ponton
June 8, 2016

On June 2, Holly Ponton, Capacity Building Manager, and Lisa Olcese, Executive Director, went to a performance of Remarkably Normal, a powerful documentary play about real people and abortion. “Soulful, funny and at times challenging,” the play featured interviews and stories submitted to the 1 in 3 Campaign, and put the human experience back into abortion – which is the first thing that gets – and stays – lost in the political clamor. Here’s their discussion about the experience.

By Stefanie Winfield, Senior Capacity Building Manager
June 2, 2016

The Summer. For students, this is the time when books get tossed in the closet or the dumpster, notebooks get recycled, backpacks get shoved under the bed and hands recover from typing and writing so much. For teachers and parents however, this is when we cross our fingers that at least some of the information that young people learned in civics class, language arts, biology and math are retained. For Colorado Youth Matter and our sexual health education partners, this is when we hope that, for their health and well-being, what students learned in sex ed sticks. Perhaps they are sharing the information they learned about how to avoid contracting an STI, or what affirmative consent is to their friends - our greatest hope is that they’re talking about their health, with peers and trusted adults, with accuracy and confidence.