By TaMaryn Waters, DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER
Tallahassee Democrat, Thursday, February 22, 2007 — Risky sexual behavior under the influence of methamphetamine — Teens at the the Lawrence-Gregory Community Center listened closely and popped their hands up to answer questions they knew.
Every month, the community center gives the children a chance to ask questions and receive information through a teen summit. In addition to learning about scholarships and cultural facts, the teens learned how to be responsible when it comes to HIV and AIDS.
"We want to let them know that this is real and this epidemic affects them," said Lark Mitchell, a youth-corps coordinator at Big Bend Cares.
Mitchell and another coordinator, Cynthia Ulysse, played a video of teens talking honestly about sex and how they felt about the virus that causes AIDS. The group, which consisted of nearly 10 middle-school children, knew many of the answers to the true-and-false quiz. But, not every time.
Ulysse said, "Condoms are 100-percent effective." One boy said true, but the answer is false.
Mitchell said the agency serves nearly 570 clients. "Our mission is to make you not one of our clients."
That starts with prevention and self-awareness, center supervisor Aurora Hansen said.
She said she wants each child to walk away knowing this: "You are important, and you are special. You have to respect your being. There are so many neat things you can do, and irresponsibility impedes success."
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