Teensource Advocacy Information

Youth today-- that means you! – are smarter, more socially aware, and driven to make change than ever before. In a world of highly charged debate on issues that impact your rights to make your own decisions about your reproductive and sexual health, now is the time to act! You are in the unique position to give a human voice to this debate. You owe it to yourself and to your peers to make yourself heard loudly and clearly, since sadly you are probably much more concerned about the well-being of youth across this country than some of our legislators are.

But together we can change that. It is up to us to use our collective voice and work for change.

It’s In Your Hands!

Don’t think that taking action is somebody else’s job. Do you really want someone else making decisions for you about:

• birth control;
• emergency contraception; or
• access to information about sexually transmitted infections?

Your elected officials – your legislators – have an obligation to listen to your concerns and to represent your interests. They work for you! You are their constituents, and whether or not you are old enough to vote, they have to listen to your opinion of how they are doing their job.

There are many ways you can take action – remember, it’s in your hands! – like through emails, letters, phone calls, writing to newspapers, joining youth networks to work collectively to make your voice heard, and telling your friends to do the same. Taking these steps are what we call “advocacy”: the act of arguing on behalf of a particular issue, idea or person (thank you to wikipedia.org). Sounds simple, right? It’s a piece of cake to become an advocate and start making the change you wish to see happen.

Think you don’t know anything about advocacy or how to become an advocate? Think again! You’ll be surprised how much you already know – and how easy it is to take matters into your own hands and to shout out with your voice for change.

Click on the links below for samples, examples and explanations of everything you need to become your own advocate. And be sure to check back with us for the latest political news on issues that matter to you.

Teensource Advocacy was funded by The California Endowment.