Blog
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A letter from our CEO—January 2020
Dear Friends, In a recent New York Times editorial, psychiatrist Richard Friedman names an important crisis happening for young people—death by suicide. What Dr. Friedman fails to mention is that this crisis is exacerbated by systemic injustices making it more severe for young people of color. Black and Latinx young folks are suffering at ...
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Recruiting a more inclusive and diverse volunteer corps, part 1
At Peer Health Exchange, we’re aiming to be a place where the ninth grade students we serve can see themselves in the college health educators that come to their classrooms. With that goal in mind, we’re working hard to build, develop and support a volunteer corps that is reflective of all our communities by ...
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Thank You for Celebrating Youth Voices!
On November 1, supporters and health advocates gathered at Kirkland & Ellis LLP to honor four Peer Health Exchange high school students Yareli Avila, Ayobami Omidiji, Keshawn Price, and Zaria Washington. Each student wrote a compelling essay in response to prompts on the health issues young people face, how they could encourage their friends, families, ...
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Chicago receives UN Global Goal Award
Peer Health Exchange was presented with the prestigious Global Goal Award for outstanding work in upholding the principles of the United Nations Association-Greater Chicago Chapter in the category of Global Goal #3: Good Health and Well-Being, October 23, 2019. UNA-Chicago’s Global Goals Awards Ceremony recognized 17 individuals and organizations dedicated to upholding the 17 ...
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Chicago Summer Roundup: Essays, Collaborations, and the Inclusive Curriculum Bill
Essay Contest Spotlights Young People’s Voices Peer Health Exchange Chicago was pleased to receive many fantastic and thoughtful essays penned by high school students we serve, thanks to their participation in our Spring Essay Contest. The contest aimed to ensure that young people’s voices continue to be represented in our work. We asked recent ...
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Chicago Military Academy Students craft a ‘Memo to the Mayor’
Peer Health Exchange convened 10 young people from Chicago Military Academy, May 14, 2019, for a lively discussion centered on their recommendations for the city’s new mayor Lori Lightfoot. As part of The Chicago Community Trust’s day-long, city-wide annual On the Table event, students talked about their ideas for health education programming, taking into ...
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Chicago Board Member, Dr. Candice Norcott, Featured on Red Table Talk
“It takes about seven tries for a girl to successfully leave her abuser for good. That statistic tells us how difficult it is often to pull away from these relationships,” said Dr. Candice Norcott, renowned clinical psychologist, and Peer Health Exchange Chicago Board Member. In case you missed it, Dr. Norcott was a featured ...
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Chicago Health Educators Prioritize Mental Health
As we continue to deeply invest in the relationships our college health educators build with high school freshmen in classrooms, volunteers have identified a need to broaden their ability to support these students through navigating mental health crises. In April, Peer Health Exchange’s UIC college chapter partnered with AMITA Health and Americorps to provide ...
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School-Based Health Centers tours are a hit!—Chicago Spring updates
A new series by Peer Health Exchange Chicago is bringing more young people to youth-friendly health centers. More than 715 Chicago students participated in the launch of our School-Based Health Center series which provided tours and presentations with six high school partners earlier this year. These tours aimed at connecting the content and skills ...
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