Whenever I open Instagram, it feels like my entire feed is filled with content about the importance of community…from mutual aid requests to “everybody wants a village, so be a villager.”

When systems fail us, how can we support each other to thrive?

As I’ve been reading and hearing more about folks turning to one another for support, care, and resources, I’ve been thinking about how this drive for connection impacts sex ed. When systems fail us, how can we support each other to thrive? When schools, clinics, and other systems are not showing up for young people, especially for queer, trans, Black, Indigenous, and people of color, what can we do to try to fill in those gaps?

Enter community-based sex education.

By ensuring caregivers, local leaders, and youth-supporting folks have access to medically accurate and understandable information, we’re meeting young people where they are. Bringing young people and their caregivers to learn together, having community conversations, and making your resources accessible is CRUCIAL always, but especially now. When schools, federally funded programs, and beyond are being told they cannot say “gender” or “sexuality” or even share medically accurate information, we need to turn to folks outside of the normal systems we may typically rely on.

Here are some examples of youth-supporting professionals across the nation who are showing up for their communities.

• Your Empowered Sexuality is a Philadelphia-based organization providing education not only to young people in schools, but also to teachers, caregivers, and healthcare providers. Beyond the “typical” sex education topics, they also do workshops on nutrition, body liberation, and anti-fatness.
• Talk More is doing incredible work to support caregivers in having shame-free conversations with their young people in the Atlanta area and beyond! They’re holding workshops in the community, but they also have AMAZING free resources on their website, like Parent Planners, categorized by age to prepare caregivers for age-appropriate conversations with their youth. Their Values Expressions Exercise and Conversation Generator provide guidance for a conversation that so many parents are afraid of!
• Healthy Native Youth holds virtual Community of Practice calls for folks supporting Native young people. By bringing folks together to focus on specific topics, they’re offering space for caring adults to problem-solve, commiserate, share wins, and find resources. They also have a text message service that gives caring adults tips on talking with young people about mental health!
• Other educators, like SexEdU, SxEdFiles, SexEdForGuys, and more are turning to social media to reach their communities! Young people (and really, anyone) may find themselves using TikTok as a search engine for health information, and it’s folks like these who are ensuring that there is medically accurate, understandable, and relatable information there for them.

While restrictions on federal funding and public education are rampant, community-based sex education can offer a different perspective that public education may not be able to. In an individualist society rooted in white supremacy, for some of us, the more organic, grassroots community approaches can feel like intimidating.

And yet, at the same time, since humans have been around, people have been building communities and relationships to stay connected, to be protected, and to resist systems of oppression. From neighborhoods to group chats to villages and beyond, a sense of belonging has provided people with purpose. Turning to our neighbors instead of relying on systems designed to oppress us helps us support young people and, in turn, makes us all better.

Sex ed is powerful work, and you deserve to feel safe doing it—that is the premise of our three new Thrivology resources: Supporting Sex Educator Safety, Managing Your Personal Information Online, and Protecting Yourself from Hacking.

Many sex educators are currently navigating uncertainty around the evolving safety risks they face and how they can protect themselves.

Many sex educators are currently navigating uncertainty around the evolving safety risks they face and how they can protect themselves. We sought out to create resources that would target sex educators’ real gaps and support needs, while also honoring the ways they and their managers are already working to protect their safety. And we knew the only way to achieve that goal was to center the voices of sex educators, managers, researchers, and other subject matter experts.

Interested in using the resources but want to learn more about how they were made? Curious about human-centered design as a way to partner with local youth-supporting professionals and design tools of your own? Read on for a brief breakdown of our design process as a case study of one way that collaborative design can happen.

Deciding to focus on sex educator safety

Thrivology resources address a wide range of topics within adolescent sexual and reproductive health (check out some others here!). Our first step is always to take an informed approach to choosing the topic to focus on.

We decided to focus on sex educator safety by brainstorming with project staff, then widening the circle to include input from our Research Alliance members and expert trainers at Healthy Teen Network, who work closely with sex educators.

A clear theme that our discussions surfaced is that these are uncertain times in the field of adolescent sexual and reproductive health.

A clear theme that our discussions surfaced is that these are uncertain times in the field of adolescent sexual and reproductive health. A lot of sex educators are concerned about their safety and are unclear about what specific risks they face.

Some of our project team had specifically heard calls from the field for digital safety support: Sex educators can see that heated debates about sex ed are gaining increased attention online, but they don’t feel that they have the tech expertise and guidance to protect themselves. We also did background research that found that resources for supporting sex educators’ safety is basically nonexistent.

From these conversations, we saw a clear opportunity to support sex educators’ well-being and enable them to better show up for young people.

Understanding sex educators’ and managers’ needs

For our field research, we took a two-pronged approach of a survey and interviews.

Digital safety survey

Because we had already heard a direct need for digital safety tools, we decided to create a targeted survey aimed at filling gaps in information about sex educators’ experiences and concerns, rather than opening up new areas to explore. Thirty-five eligible respondents took the survey, including 15 educators and 7 managers. Over half of them were very or somewhat concerned about their digital safety, which aligned with our understanding. Others shared confusion about whether they should be worried.

“I do think there’s some reason to be concerned, but I haven’t put much thought into my concern personally. I do know other educators in my field and area who have been doxed, but I do not sense imminent threat of that. I should possibly be more concerned than I am.” -Digital safety survey participant

While many respondents expressed concerns about not being tech-savvy enough to protect themselves, almost everyone was able to name at least one way they were keeping themselves safe! The two main strategic areas were doxing and hacking protection. The survey also validated our belief that sex educators need more support for their digital safety. Over half had not tried to use any resources to improve their digital safety, and only 7% felt that existing resources were working well to keep them protected.

Safety interviews

In addition to digital safety, we knew we wanted to create a suite of safety-focused resources. We therefore took a more expansive field research approach to learn about what supports sex educators need for their overall safety.

We led six 60-minute interviews with five youth-supporting professionals and one policy expert, from across the country. For one portion of the interview, we created an interactive Miro board structure to encourage participants to get specific about their concerns.

It was late high school the first time I heard someone refer to asexuality. The only context I had for this term was biology class a few years earlier where we had learned about how some organisms could reproduce asexually by splitting themselves in two, and after considering what it would look like if a person tried to do that, I concluded there must be something I was missing.

Reflecting now on the sex education I received growing up, it was all too apparent that any discussion of asexuality was completely absent.

It took my own searching to discover that asexuality is a sexual orientation where someone experiences little to no sexual attraction. Reflecting now on the sex education I received growing up, it was all too apparent that any discussion of asexuality was completely absent.

It might seem counterintuitive to talk about a lack of sexual attraction when learning about sex, but here are four reasons why it makes complete sense for comprehensive sex ed to include discussions about asexuality.

Some asexual people have sex

Asexuality exists on a spectrum, ranging from being sex repulsed to sex favorable, and, of course, everything in between. And contrary to popular belief, some asexual people do have sex. They might want to build a closer physical connection with their partner. They might want to have a baby. They might experience some sexual attraction. There are tons of valid reasons why an asexual person might choose to have sex—but ultimately, this means you can’t assume someone who is asexual won’t ever have sex.

Discussing these nuances, rather than ignoring them or flattening asexuality to one specific experience, helps build a more robust understanding of sexuality. It creates opportunities to discuss how to navigate relationships where one partner is more interested in sex than another or other ways physical intimacy shows up in relationships.

Sex ed is about so much more than just sex

Sex educators are probably used to reciting this whenever prompted, but sex ed is not just about having sex. It covers healthy relationships, communication techniques, self-esteem, media literacy, and so much more. These transferrable skills benefit young people for the rest of their lives in their relationships, friendships, and jobs, whether or not they end up having sex.

A key part of sex ed is the concept of consent. In learning “yes means yes,” it’s also critical to understand the difference between an enthusiastic “yes!” and someone acquiescing out of pressure or fear. Learning about all the ways we ask for and give consent, even outside of sex, helps build healthier communication in relationships of all kinds.

Everyone deserves to understand their body

Even for people who aren’t interested in having sex, understanding their anatomy and how to access reproductive health care helps them stay well. A young person who isn’t having sex may not need a pap smear yet, for example, but knowing about the process and the importance of preventative screenings sets them up for a healthier future.

A major part of any sex ed curriculum is often birth control, which, yes, is commonly used to prevent pregnancy and STIs. Asexual young people might assume they don’t need birth control, but sex ed can highlight the many reasons people use it beyond pregnancy and STI prevention. Different forms of birth control can help relieve period cramps, alleviate the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) or premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), and even reduce pain associated with endometriosis.

Inclusion means validation and connection

Sex ed creates a safe space for young people to ask questions, get answers, and understand a little bit more about themselves.

While it’s being discussed more online and in pop culture, asexuality is still often misunderstood—if it’s understood at all. Especially for young people who are navigating finding their place in the world, it can be incredibly isolating to think they’re the only person who feels this way. Even just naming asexuality can help students feel a little less alone and may even lead them to finding others who identify the same way. Sex ed creates a safe space for young people to ask questions, get answers, and understand a little bit more about themselves.

And for young people who are still learning about their identities, incorporating asexuality into sex ed can reassure them, in the words of Sex Education‘s Jean Milburn, that, “Sex doesn’t make us whole, and so how could you ever be broken?”

As 2025 comes to a close, it’s the perfect time to look back at what you found most useful from Healthy Teen Network. From product launches to social media campaigns to another successful conference, join us as we flashback on your (and our) favorites from 2025.

Resources you loved the most

This year, you reached for resources that prioritize care—whether that’s a kit of sensory items, a deck of grounding exercise cards, or a guide for creating moments of self-care during the workday. You also focused on deepening your knowledge of sex ed, making sure it’s inclusive and affirming for all young people.

What if learning about sexual health felt more like scrolling through a friend’s social media than reading a tip sheet? Not a reel made by a clinic or campaign team, but by a young person speaking directly to their followers.

That’s the approach we took when collaborating with young creators in Baltimore City over the past three years in partnership with Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD) on the Youth Sexual & Reproductive Justice Initiative (Y-SURGE). The research project sought to boost clinic use for young people who identify as LGBTQ+ and/or those disconnected from school or work, while reducing the stigma around talking about sexual and reproductive health.

While Y-SURGE had many facets, I worked with young creators to make sexual health content that felt real and relatable. Through influencer briefs, shared tips, and learning what worked and what did not, we found what I call our “special sauce:” a good mixture of guidance and flexibility.

As one creator put it: “I love the balance of creative freedom and instruction when it comes to making the posts. I know exactly what I have to do, but I am also encouraged to put my own spin and personality.”

This collaborative, youth-led approach inspired Sexual Health Influencers: A Guide to Collaborating with Young Content Creators, designed to help youth-supporting professionals bring this model to their own communities.

We know 2025 has been a challenging year. From economic hardships to ever-shifting policies to the fear of families being separated, each of us has felt the impact of the difficult times we’re living in. The sphere of adolescent sexual and reproductive health is no exception, with sex educators across the country seeing their important and impactful work being politicized, scrutinized, and even banned.

Despite the challenges of this year, we’ve seen how community and care have persisted.

Despite the challenges of this year, we’ve seen how community and care have persisted. Neighbors activated, cooking meals and donating goods to feed each other. Educators have remained resolute in their values, ensuring that young people have access to the resources and care they deserve. As our #HealthyTeen25 conference theme, In Solidarity, stated so succinctly, “We shine our brightest—together,” and while this has been a tough year for many, we have seen just how brightly we can shine when we come together.

In recognition of the people and things that have reminded us why we persevere, we asked Healthy Teen Network staff what they are most grateful for this year.

Finding strength in community

In the spirit of solidarity, many members of our team were grateful for the family members and friends on whom they could lean this year.

Everyone who refuses to accept ‘I’m ok, I don’t need anything’ as an answer and continue to show up for me anyway.

When asked what kept her going, Jerrica said, “My village: family, friends and all of you beautiful people. Everyone who refuses to accept ‘I’m ok, I don’t need anything’ as an answer and continue to show up for me anyway.”

“I’m grateful for my family and community (friends, old & new colleagues), especially as I navigated job loss this past spring,” said one of Healthy Teen Network’s newest staff members, Christy.

“My son-shine, my village, social justice, and all who continue to resist and rise up, discernment, heartfelt hugs, thoughtful check-ins, and a good latte,” is what gave Caro strength this year.

“I’m grateful for my sweet daughter, who, despite her young age, shows so much wisdom and encouragement,” shared Milagros. “Even when things feel heavy, she brings so much joy into my life, and on the hardest days she somehow makes everything better.”

As we reflect back on another unforgettable Healthy Teen Network conference, our hearts are full—and our sense of solidarity has never been stronger.

The outside world feels so chaotic right now, a feeling of constant fires that require our attention; it is exhausting to sift through. And that is on purpose! It is meant to exhaust us, to make us numb, and to distract us from the actual, real, and very important work we all aim to do each and every day.

It might feel lonely right now as we continue our work under these upside down and challenging conditions, but you are not alone.

We are in a really hard part of the journey. But I take strength in the fact that we aren’t alone in believing all young people, all people, have the right to be who they are, love who they love, have access to support and services, and the right to bodily autonomy to help them flourish and thrive. It might feel lonely right now as we continue our work under these upside down and challenging conditions, but you are not alone.

Over the course of the three days, the theme of In Solidarity invited us to reflect on what it truly means to stand together—across movements, across communities, and especially within our own field of adolescent sexual and reproductive health.

From day one, when Healthy Teen Network was founded in 1979 as the National Organization for Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenting (NOAPP), we have not only affirmed but often been one of the few national organizations working to ensure young families’ access to the supports and services they need to thrive. We do this because being inclusive of and affirming young people who are pregnant or parenting ensures equity for all youth.

With the Healthy Teen Network Young Parent Achievement Award, we recognize someone who has met the challenges of early parenting, has achieved extraordinary personal and/or professional success, and demonstrates phenomenal leadership.

The Healthy Teen Network Young Parent Achievement Award not only recognizes young parents—it celebrates them and their accomplishments, for themselves and their families.

Last month, at the Healthy Teen Network annual conference in Atlanta, we presented Kate Westaby, PhD, with the 2025 Young Parent Achievement Award. Kate shared more about her achievements in her acceptance speech:

The Healthy Teen Network Visionary Award honors forward-thinking, insightful, and proactive individuals or organizations committed to innovative approaches in adolescent sexual and reproductive health education and care.

Visionaries dream of the endless possibilities in education, health care, technology, and policy, ensuring that what young people learn, experience, and discover about sexuality is relevant, timely, and inspiring.

Anticipating the needs of the ever-changing lives of young people and creating holistic solutions with young people that cultivate equity, reduce health disparities, and are inclusive and affirming are at the core of the Healthy Teen Network Visionary Award.

Last month, at the Healthy Teen Network annual conference in Atlanta, we presented Natasha Ramsey, MD, MPH, FAAP, with the 2025 Visionary Award. In her acceptance, Natasha shared about her work:

The Healthy Teen Network Changemaker Award celebrates individuals or organizations who are unapologetically creating a world where every young person can be who they are and love who they love.

In a time of continued and escalating attacks on sexual and reproductive health rights, driven by ideology and partisan agendas, it is the changemakers who are making it happen. Through their dedication and hard work, changemakers are actualizing the vision of a world that affirms and celebrates them for who they are. Changemakers rebuff and replace harmful policies and practices that strip young people of their autonomy, rights, and identities, freeing them to become who they want to be.

Earlier this month, at the Healthy Teen Network annual conference in Atlanta, we presented the Mount Sinai Department of Health Education with the 2025 Changemaker Award. Alyssa Gale, MPH, accepted the award on behalf of the Mount Sinai Department of Health, and she shared more about their work in her acceptance: