St. Lawrence County Health Initiative

St. Lawrence County Health Initiative logo

 Community Mentor: Hope Ninmann 

Agency and Placement Location: 6439 SH 56, Potsdam, NY 13676. ***Please note: the placement will start remotely then have the option to be in-person/hybrid.

Transportation: Need Own Transportation, this means that CBL did not automatically reserve a SLU vehicle. Therefore, it is the student’s responsibility to access available resources to secure transportation. In these cases, a placement site is considered within walking/biking distance, or is within five miles of campus. Here are some alternative transportation options to consider: use a personal car that you are an insured driver for, walk, or bike. In some cases, it is possible to reserve a university vehicle from the regular fleet. *Contingent on its availability, students may also be able to reserve the CBL van. In order to utilize this form of transportation, students MUST complete SLU's Driver Certification training. The CBL office does not endorse the idea of students carpooling in personal vehicles. It is especially important that students understand the risks associated with carpooling. Carpooling should only be considered after all other options have been exhausted; when carpooling is necessary, both the driver and any riders must complete transportation waivers.

Mission: According to their website, the mission of the Health Initiative is "To measurably improve the health of St. Lawrence County residents, and the residents of the North Country Region, through collaborative community efforts." A non-profit organization with the mission to reduce the burden of chronic disease in both individuals and the community by empowering individuals with the knowledge and skills needed to live healthier lives

Projects: 

  • Option 1: Sexual Health Evidence-Based Programming 

    A CBL student could explore our sexual health evidence-based programs (EBP), Making Proud Choices and Be Proud Be Responsible, with the goal of cofacilitating activities in the classroom. This is a good option for students who are comfortable with sexual health topics (birth control methods, STI prevention, reproductive anatomy, etc.) and want gain experience working with middle and high school students in a classroom setting, and have their own transportation. You can learn more about these programs here: https://gethealthyslc.org/capp/ 

  • Option 2: Sexual Health Social Media Messaging 

    A CBL student could work to spread comprehensive, age-appropriate, medically accurate sexual health information to area youth via the TeensHELP social media channels, specifically our Instagram and TikTok. A wide range of topics can be explored, including but not limited to: birth control basics, healthy relationships, consent, STI prevention, condom use skills, condom negotiation skills, LGBTQ topics, anatomy, etc. This is a good option for students who have social media content creation experience and want to come up with creative and effective ways to communicate sometimes difficult information and material to a youth audience.  You can check out previously made content by following @slcteenshelp on Instagram and TikTok.

  • Option 3: Positive Youth Development Programming 

    A CBL student could review our new Positive Youth Development program, Money Habitudes, and help create a series of 40-minute lessons we could offer our partner schools. This is a good option of someone interested in youth work, but not sexual health education, and is willing to call/email local schools to determine what classrooms might be the best home for this program.  

Agency Requirements:

  • Job Description/Expectations
  • Confidentiality Statement
  • HIPPA Education

Website:
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