Hobbs group hopes to educate, prevent unwanted teen pregnancies
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HOBBS, N.M. — In May of this year, Hobbs installed a safe haven baby box at one of their fire stations. Other organizations in the city are also trying to offer resources for women and teens.
MyPower is actually the largest youth development program right here in Lea County and we are a teen pregnancy prevention program that offers three quality programs at no cost to our students,” said Danielle Hernandez, interim executive director for MyPower Inc.
MyPower provides resources to help empower teens and prevent teen pregnancy.
“So what that is, is we kind of help them guide them what to expect how to prepare, how to stand up against peer pressure, how to say no,” Hernandez said. “We go into how your body works, the changes that are going to be happening, we teach the girls about hygiene.”
MyPower is in 13 different schools, and they have worked with 11,585 students from fifth to eighth grade.
In May of this year, Hobbs installed a safe haven baby box at one of their fire stations. Other organizations in the city are also trying to offer resources for women and teens.
Hernandez says teens have to feel empowered.
“In order to prevent teen pregnancy, we have to empower them, encourage them, help them grow, help them love who they are, accept who they are,” Hernandez said. “Find somebody, find an adult that you trust, whether that’s a parent, a relative, an aunt, a teacher, whoever that is, find that person and talk to them.”
Hernandez says since 2009, teen birth rates are down 84% in Lea County.
“We’re empowering our kids to make good choices to want to succeed to set goals,” Hernandez said.