REAL Teen Council

The REAL (Realistic Education About Life) Teen Council is a youth-led, volunteer peer education program for young leaders, ages 13-18.

What we do:

Teen Council members do lots of fun things! As community leaders, Teen Council members are trained to provide accurate, factual information to their peers about relevant youth health issues, usually in a one-on-one, face to face (or IM to IM!) way. They organize projects, represent Wake Teen at community and media events, and even have the opportunity to co-present with the Wake Teen health educator for after-school programs!

How we do it:

Teen Council members meet weekly at Wake Teen Medical Services on Wednesdays for about an hour and a half in the late-afternoon, after school. At some of the meetings, Teen Council members participate in a wide variety of trainings related to youth issues such as pregnancy prevention, STD prevention, tactics for dealing with peer pressure, drug and alcohol avoidance and more. At other meetings, Teen Council members brainstorm ways to talk to their friends about these issues, plan service projects or fundraising events, or identify guest speakers or other events they might like to participate in as a group. Teen Council members might be asked to provide input to the Wake Teen Medical Services staff when they need to know something that only a teenager can tell them.

Who makes a good peer educator?

The REAL Teen Council is limited to 20 active members at any one time. The most important characteristic of a Teen Council member is a strong interest in youth health issues and commitment to helping others. Reliability and responsibility are also very important—you have to be able to come to meetings and keep your commitments. Teen Council members are leaders, who strive to be role models for other youth by making healthy decisions for themselves.

Apply! Our application form is here. Parental permission is required, and an application does not guarantee a place on the Teen Council.

Questions? Contact Wake Teen's Director of Health Education, Jenny Palmer at real@waketeen.org or (919)828-0035.