Grant request for Health Information Project peer education program

Organization Name Health Information Project, Inc. (HIP) Organization Mission & Vision HIP believes that every young person deserves to be physically and emotionally safe and healthy. To achieve this, HIP uses the power of peer education by training high school students to be health teachers. Overview of Organization HIP is an innovative, peer-to-peer comprehensive health education program for high school students. HIP addresses critical health topics such as depression, eating disorders, obesity, anxiety, suicide, stress, bullying and abuse. The program’s impact has been validated by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania. During this school year alone, HIP will train over 3,500 11th/12th grade peer educators who will teach over 65,000 9th grade students in over 100+ public, private and charter schools across Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe, Pinellas counties in Florida as well as in Little Rock, Arkansas. You can learn more about HIP at www.behip.org. Program Name HIP Program Implementation at Miami Palmetto Senior High School Program Details The Need For Change In 2009, HIP’s founder, Risa Berrin (a native Village of Pinecrest resident), saw a void in the health education space – the traditional, archaic health class model was in desperate need of innovation. Risa felt it was time to disrupt the traditional health model. Students needed practical, reliable health information and health resources. Risa knew it was not enough for kids to only learn about world history, geometry, literature and biology. They needed to be taught how to cope with anxiety, get out of an abusive relationship, help a family member with depression, and support a bullied classmate. The pandemic only exacerbated the situation, causing a mental health emergency among children and teens. If students are coping with physical and emotional health stressors and distractions, they cannot be successful in the classroom. So, she came up with a solution. Our Bold Solution Kids overwhelmingly prefer learning about health from their peers. That is why HIP reinvented health education by creating the only peer-to-peer comprehensive program for high school students in the country. HIP trains high school students (11th & 12th grade upperclassmen) to teach health education classes during the academic school day to all 9th graders at their own school. Utilizing a unique, regularly-updated, science-based curriculum, HIP addresses critical health topics that are relatable and relevant to teens. The Results ● Developing thousands of student health leaders annually ● Creating school campuses that are safe and supportive ● Connecting students to health resources ● Supporting students so they know that they are not alone With a strong 15-year track record, HIP has taught over 425,000 9th graders and trained over 21,000 11th and 12th grade student peer health educators. Miami Palmetto Senior High School was the first high school to participate in the HIP program 15 years ago! Since then, all of the M-DCPS high schools and several private schools have followed Palmetto’s lead! At Palmetto, HIP has become a very popular program for the upperclassmen to participate in and the spots that become available each year are truly sought after. They apply in their sophomore year and commit to their junior and senior years in the program. HIP is a leadership development program where students are trained in public speaking, classroom management, discussion facilitation and curriculum knowledge. These are skills that they will be able to use in high school, college, their professional careers and beyond. Principal Dobbs, Mrs. Joyce Brislawn (HIP’s faculty sponsor) and Mrs. Julianne Farkas (9th grade AP World History teacher), have been incredible supporters and advocates for the HIP program since the beginning. HIP would be truly grateful for the support of the Village of Pinecrest and we thank you for your time and consideration. -Valerie Berrin Chief Operating Officer -Risa Berrin Founder & Chief Executive Officer Program Costs/ Grant Request Curriculum Materials - $1,200 Training Materials - $1,000 School Health Campaign (banners, posters, HIP TIPs) - $850 Peer Health Educator Shirts- $550 Health Resource Portal - $750 Individualized School Portal - $650 Total Grant Request - $5,000