Who We Are
WeldWAITS is a relationship education program for adolescents that emphasizes the importance of linking them to others through healthy relationships and transforming their expectations, so they don't settle for anything less than the best in relationships, education, health, and life! When parents, significant adults, schools, and communities invest in cultivating healthy relationships with youth, they are modeling healthy relationship strategies. These relationships and strategies can lay the foundation for youth to develop healthy friendships and healthy dating relationships. The ultimate hope is that youth recognize the importance of cultivating healthy relationships now so they reap the benefits of connectedness throughout their lifetime. Some of those benefits of connectedness include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Lower rate of depression and anxiety
- Emotional regulation
- Better self-esteem
- Optimistic outlook
- Improved cognitive function
- Stronger immunity
- Longer life expectancy
Youth are educated, equipped, and empowered through family-based experiences, school-based education, and community-based engagement to make informed decisions, practice healthy behaviors, and establish great expectations!
Overall Program Goal: The WeldWAITS Program will develop, enhance, and expand prevention programming aimed at increasing the protective factors of social connectedness, healthy relationships, and high expectations & boundaries in youth to delay the onset of adolescent sexual activity and participation in other risky behaviors including unhealthy friendships, dating violence, and bullying through a positive youth development approach.
Services:
- Family-Based Experiences: Providing parents, guardians, trusted-adults, and families with resources, skills, and confidence to have conversations and experiences life together.
- School-Based Education: Reaching students in schools (and other youth-serving organizations) through interactive, educational presentations on topics ranging from puberty to true vs. toxic friends to boundary setting and refusal skills to healthy vs. unhealthy dating relationships to sexually transmitted infections.
- Community-Based Engagement: Collaborating with youth-serving community partners to engage people in fostering supportive environments for positive youth development, connectedness, and healthy relationships.