Having “the talk” with your teen can be awkward for both of you.  Sexual health isn’t often a natural conversation topic between parents and teens, so bringing it up does take planning.  It’s also not a “one and done” type of conversation.  As your teen matures, your conversations regarding sexual health should mature with them.  This is a very complex topic, so trying to discuss everything in one conversation is very overwhelming and confusing. 

This podcast provides some tips to help guide your conversation to be productive and educational. 

In this episode, we speak with our Youth Resource Coordinator about mental health barriers and stigma in WV. 

HELP4WV offers a 24/7 call, chat, and text line that provides immediate help for any West Virginian struggling with an addiction or mental health issue.

As you think about your personality, which of the following nine roles fits you best most of the time? Or, to put it differently, if you were to describe yourself in a few words, which of the following word clusters would come closest? 

Type One is principled, purposeful, self-controlled, and perfectionistic. Type Two is generous, demonstrative, people-pleasing, and possessive. Type Three is adaptable, excelling, driven, and image-conscious. Type Four is expressive, dramatic, self-absorbed, and temperamental. Type Five is perceptive, innovative, secretive, and provocative. Type Six is engaging, responsible, anxious, and suspicious. Type Seven is spontaneous, versatile, distractible, and scattered. Type Eight is self-confident, decisive, willful, and confrontational. Type Nine is receptive, reassuring, agreeable, and complacent.

In this episode, we answer some of the more common questions that teens ask in the classroom about birth control. 

In this podcast, we chat with Autumn Wagoner. Autumn is our new Youth Resource Coordinator here at Mission West Virginia! As the Youth Resource Coordinator, Autumn works closely with students who identify a need for resources or community referrals. She will also provide education on numerous topics such as mental health, substance abuse, trauma, grief, high-risk sexual behaviors, teen dating violence, and relationship problems, pregnancy and STIs, self-esteem issues, consent, and sexual assault prevention, as well as other topics. Autumn will also act as a bridge of support for students needing a trusted adult to speak with and help them work through any difficult situation they may be experiencing. Autumn has her bachelor's and master's in Social Work from the University of Akron and is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker in West Virginia. Autumn was one of our THINK educators teaching Love Notes before becoming the Youth Resource Coordinator. She has previous experience working with older adults, addiction, mental health case management, and worked as a mental health therapist for adults and adolescents.

Currently, she contracts with several agencies, nonprofits, and organizations across the country working on projects and curriculums to better the mental wellness and physical health of survivors of trafficking, exploitation, and trauma.

In this podcast we discuss human trafficking and trauma. You'll hear parts of Angie's story as a human trafficking survivor and what you can do to protect yourself from becoming a victim and how you can help.

In this podcast, we speak with Evan Young from Putnam Wellness Coalition about healthy alternatives.

Pronouns are substitute words like “she” or “this” that can stand on their own to refer to a noun (a person, place or thing.) Our pronouns are part of our identity. Just like our race, religion, and sexual orientation are ways in which we identify ourselves, our gender pronouns work in the same way. They reflect how we think of ourselves – and how others see us.

LGBTQ Pride Month is an annual celebration commemorating the events of June 1969, when an uprising at the Stonewall Inn in New York City became a watershed moment in the Gay Liberation Movement.

LGBTQ youth face unique challenges including:

•  greater health disparities than their cisgender straight peers;
•  higher levels of suicidal ideation than cisgender straight peers;  
•  increased risk of experiencing homelessness; and
•  increased experiences of being bullied.

As youth-serving professionals, we play an important role in supporting the positive development of all youth, including LGBTQ youth.

In this podcast, we speak with Amanda from Contact Crisis Center staff to learn more consent, stalking, and sexual assault.