emP.O.W.E.R.ed SC | Fact Forward

We are linking teens with the sexual health services they need.

Empower Ed EmP.O.W.E.R.ed SC: Partners Optimizing Wellness and Education through Referrals is an initiative from Fact Forward that aims to improve reproductive health outcomes for youth of color in South Carolina. We will focus on making connections with teens, parents, and the community to ensure this project's success.

Ready to see how you can make a difference?

Teens/Young Adults

Be part of a movement to improve sexual health for you, the friends you care about, and the community you’re growing up in.

Parents/Caregivers

Join our cause to ensure that all teens have the best care and the brightest possible future.

Community Partners

Our partners play a vital role in creating and putting ideas out into our communities.

How do we do it?

1. Provide the opportunity to explore and develop innovative interventions within the network.

Focus groups
Listening sessions
Curriculum development
Provide training for healthcare providers, educators, and community organizations

2. Test and refine new and existing interventions, such as:

emPOWERing KINGS, a multi- session education curriculum and mentoring program designed to prioritize the sexual and reproductive health education of Black high school and college-aged young men.
emPOWERing Families, a community facilitated training that assists parents/caregivers/trusted adults with having conversations to young people about love, sex, and relationships.
emPOWERing Providers, a series of trainings will work with healthcare workers and youth to feel more comfortable providing and discussing sexual reproductive health services during visits.
Media Aware, a comprehensive sexual health programs for middle school students, high school students, and parents that use a media literacy education approach.

3. Evaluate the impact this investment has on the community and disseminate effective interventions.

Fast Facts

In Richland county, there were 1460 cases of Chlamydia! That’s almost how often a school bell will ring in a year.
Orangeburg county ranked #8 out of all 46 counties for Chlamydia infections.
In Richland County, 212 teens gave birth in 2019.
There are 20 million new STD infections each year—almost half of them among young people ages 15 to 24.
In Orangeburg County, 158 teens gave birth in 2019. That’s nearly 1/3rd of the students that attend Edisto High School!