Category: Resources from Providers

The CAPP Team from Northwell Health LIJ/CCMC is proud to present our latest student-led videos. To reduce barriers to sexual health services, our project is lucky to partner with Connected Health Solutions to support students in creating their own PSA-style video for our school-based health centers. The project began in February 2020 and was cut short with school closures in March 2020. Once it was clear that NYC schools would mostly operate virtually, we made adjustments to the script and filming process to be virtual and safe for student actors and crew.

EC Video

For the film on Emergency Contraception (EC), our male students expressed their curiosity about EC and how it is used. It was important to our group to encourage male partners to take an active role in supporting their partners’ birth control choices – even if not completely informed, as in our video! And using humor is always a great way to get a message across!

Emergency Contraception video

Online Safety Video

For our longer middle school film, each student was filmed separately and cut together to look like one continuous screen capture. This was a new process not only for our students, but for our team and the director! The students were explicit about their desire to have a film that didn’t have a happy ending – they felt it would be inauthentic and cheesy. After the film “premiered” at the school assembly, our site educator, Anne van der Veer, played the video for every advisory class and facilitated a group discussion about being safe online. It prompted conversations about online learning, social media, sexting, and safety. Anne found that each grade took away a different lesson based on their age and maturity level – so we were happy to see the film was suitable for different ages.

I See You video

More Resources

We are so proud of our students’ contributions and are grateful for the support we received from the schools to complete this project. Please check out our library of videos on YouTube along with the two main videos above! If you are interested in the facilitation guide for “I See You,” please email Amanda Ferrandino (aferrandin@northwell.edu).

~ Amanda Ferrandino

Guest writer Lumesh Kumar is Senior Health Educator for CAPP/SRAE Programs at BronxWorks.

I have been working remotely from home and unable to facilitate the CAPP program to teens in person. My team and I were tasked with creating videos related to a variety of health topics. This was a unique opportunity to step away from the evidence-based intervention and have a bit of freedom and ability to put my spin on what I was presenting.

In June, National Pride Month, I wanted to create a video that would increase young people’s knowledge on the topic of LGBTQIA+. I created two videos: the first was an overview of the acronym LGBTQIA+ and the second was a history and trivia game. I was content with my audience being adolescents but I thought “why not expand this to the adult population?”​

As the co-chair of the Health Committee at BronxWorks, I was able to secure a spot with the training department to facilitate my live webinar as a professional development webinar open to all staff. ​

In the live webinar for BronxWorks, I provided a brief overview of each letter in the acronym LGBTQIA+, including symbols and flags associated with the acronym. I discussed gender, gender identity, gender expression, and biological sex just to name a few. After that, I played a trivia game where the staff learned about LGBTQIA+ history. ​

The staff who attended the webinar enjoyed and learned a lot of new information. Staff in the training commented on how informative this webinar was and wanted it to be something that all staff members were required to complete. The training department is considering this webinar to be part of the on-boarding process for new staff!​

When creating these videos I intended to reach youth to increase their knowledge on what the LGBTQIA+ acronym means. Unknowingly I was able to reach 40+ staff at my organization with the potential of reaching all new incoming staff.  ​

Below are my two recorded videos (temporarily hosted on the ACT for Youth Vimeo account). Please feel free to share with staff, parents, and teens!​

Where’s Your Pride: A Guide to LGBTQIA+

Test Your Knowledge: LGBTQIA+ Trivia

Thank you​.

~ Lumesh Kumar