East Cleveland Teen Collaborative – Promoting connectedness through #teamhealth

The East Cleveland Teen Collaborative funded by a three-year Kresge Foundation Safety Net Enhancement Initiative Grant focuses on positive youth development in East Cleveland, OH teens and increasing access to care by providing streamlined holistic care. The Collaborative's experience with teens shows the following: teens who feel empowered to change their circumstances and the community to which they are connected, have decreased feelings of hopelessness and, in turn, more self-esteem; are motivated to take care of themselves; and will get any help that they need. Paramount to the Collaborative's success has been the hiring of youth as Teen Ambassadors to both represent the East Cleveland teen population and to provide the drive and focus behind the initiatives and programs of the Collaborative as lay community workers. As a peer-to-peer initiative, Teen Ambassadors refer classmates and friends to the East Cleveland Teen Collaborative Program, known as #teamhealth, which provides both group and individual sessions provided by sector-specific health navigators representing physical, behavioral and public health, as well as social services. Programming, events, and initiatives by the Teen Collaborative are driven by East Cleveland Teens and Teen Ambassadors through creative processes and programs such as Photovoice and Neighbor Circles. These programs utilize various media (e.g. photographs, maps and drawings) to present teens the opportunity to express how they see and experience their community, including both the assets and the hassles, to then develop strategies for community development and enhancement.