You’ve probably seen the billboards around Metro Detroit promoting the YMCA’s SWIFT program, but you may not know what exactly the program is.
SWIFT stands for “Sexual Wellness Information for Teens” and is an 8-week curriculum the Y puts on at schools throughout the Metro area.
It teaches kids ages 11-15 about how to make good choices and withstand the peer pressure to engage in sexual activity. Trained instructors work with kids to help them understand the consequences of early sexual activity. It also helps them build their self esteem to resist pressure from the opposite sex, and more importantly, to identify what their dreams are so they have something to wait for.
“Education is key to make good choices,” says Tricia Hamzik, who directs the Y’s SWIFT program. “We don’t replace parents, we’re just another voice giving correct medical information. We’re not going to make sexual decisions for them, but we give good information so they can make those decisions.”
Getting discussions going among the kids in the program is really important, Tricia says. They prefer to keep classes coed, so boys and girls can hear what the opposite sex really is thinking about relationships and sex. Facilitators do lots of ice-breaking activities with the kids that involve them being up and moving, so the embarrassment factor is lessened and they can realy talk about what they are learning.
A big part of why Y-SWIFT works it that it helps teens work through their own thinking on sexual decisions, instead of it being an adult standing in front of them saying what they should and should not do. “We want them to own their decisions,” Tricia says.
Proof of the program’s effectiveness comes in the binders full of letters each facilitator has received from students who have been taught the program, Kids often will write on their own, without prompting from a school official. “We’ve had kids saying things like, ‘I was heading down the wrong path — thank you for the information to help me make a better choice for my life,’” Tricia says. “I have had students who’ve never been told that they are worth waiting for.”
SWIFT is another example of how the Y’s mission goes beyond “gym and swim” and into all aspects of health for both youth and adults.