Berks Teens Matter, an initiative of Co-County Wellness Services, has officially revised its name to Berks Teens.

The decision to update the name comes as the teen pregnancy prevention initiative looks to expand its services and resources to youth in Berks County. The process of revising the name also grew from a respect and recognition to the similarity of the Berks Teens Matter name to Black Lives Matter. We recognized that we may have been unconsciously riding in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement and respectfully wanted to correct that by revising the name of our initiative.

Our Name Revision Comes With Improved Services

To better represent the mission and intent of the organization, Berks Teens (BT) will continue to focus on adolescent sexual health through comprehensive sex education. BT will also be considering additional ways to serve and support youth in Berks County.

CSE (comprehensive sexuality education) is a more expansive “holistic” approach, relating to the physical, biological, emotional and social aspects of sexuality, rather than just focusing on prevention of disease or pregnancy. Topics related to consent, LGBTQ, healthy relationships, and pleasure are an essential part of CSE.

Berks Teens Logo, yellow blue, pink, and black triangles on left side. Berks Teens, An initiative of Co-County Wellness services

Berks Teens YA Program and HRC are Expanding

Berks Teens will also be expanding its peer education Youth Ambassador program and Health Resource Center, both currently at Reading High School. Moving the programs into additional schools in the county allows BT to reach more youth and offer more support. The Health Resource Center will also continue offering virtual appointments and have pop-up locations in the summer months.

With funding and support from United Way, Berks County Community Foundation, and other community partners, BT is currently growing its curriculum and training options for the community and developing a new parental advisory board.

Berks Teens continues its mission to create change through collective impact and work with others stakeholders and partners in our community to see it come to fruition.

For more information, visit the website at berksteens.org, call Heather Ulrich, Project Director at 610 375 6523, X113 or email hulrich@cocountywellnessservices.org.

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