Young Men’s Program

The Young Men’s Program  (YMP) is a male involvement intervention that delivers comprehensive sexual health and life skills education to students (12-19) at Flamson and Lewis Middle Schools, Paso Robles High School and Liberty Continuation High School. Topics include male relationships, male roles and responsibiliies, abstinence, decision making, communication, refusal and negotiation skills and practice, consequences of teen pregnancy, adolescent sexuality, reproductive anatomy, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), birth control, responsible fatherhood, mentoring, leadership development, volunteerism/service, employability, civic involvement, California laws, and cultural factors.

The YMP utilizes a curriculum developed by Jerry Tello, entitled Hombres Jovenes Con Palabra (Young Men with Word), in tandem with the F.L.A.S.H. 7/8 (Family Life and Sexual Health) curriculum, age appropriate for middle-schoolers, and Power Through Choices curriculum, age appropriate for high-schoolers. All curriculums are medically accurate, inclusive, and compliant with the California Education Code and Sexual Heath Accountability Act.  The primary thrust of the YMP program is to encourage and assist participants to develop goals and aspirations, postpone seuxal involvement, and facilitate a healthy transition from adolescence to early manhood.

The YMP also facilitates after-school commmunity service and job development opportunities that occur regularly through collaborationo with the Upper Salinas River Resource Conservation District (USRRCD), La Tiendita Thrift Store, and Food Bank of Paso Robles. The program also offers enrichment trips to Cal Poly University and Cuesta College, overnight camping at Cerro Alto, health clinic orientations, and transportation to and from FPACT providing clinics.   

Picture: after a hard day of service in the Larry Moore Park, Young Men’s Program participants and health educator Samuel Castillo reflect and enjoy the sights and sounds of the Salinas River - still flowing readily from  heavy rains during the winter months of 2010.

Picture: Osvaldo Olmos, community health educator with the Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo (ECOSLO) provides a presentation on pesticide and chemical awareness to participants at Liberty Continuation High School. LifeBound maintains an annual subcontract with ECOSLO that allots funds for environmentally related service and garden restoration projects. The ECOSLO-LifeBound collaborative has resulted in native plant installation, outdoor education, and eco-friendly restoration strategies that strive for sustainability.

Picture: YMP participants attend a peformance of Teen Mommalogues at the San Luis Obispo Community Theatre. Teen Mommalogues is written and produced by the CAPSLO Health Services Divsions’ Information & Education Program (I&E).