The Clarke Central High School Teen Matters, located at 168 S. Rocksprings Ct., provides teens with confidential services such as contraceptives and health education. The funding of this free program could potentially be cut due to President Donald Trump’s budget cut plans for the Department of Health and Human Services. “What’s going to affect (Teen Matters) is what money they get to match from the state and the state gets that money from the federal government. It’s politics. I don’t think it’s going to erase it and take it away completely. It may just affect the hours they’re open,” CCHS nurse Jessica Weems said. Photo by Mackenzie Caudill.
By MACKENZIE CAUDILL – Staff Writer
Teen Matters is a teen health program for high school-aged students with locations at both Cedar Shoals High School and Clarke Central High School to provide health services confidentially. The program could be affected by President Donald Trump’s planned Department of Health and Human Services budget cuts.
According to the Los Angeles Times, President Donald J. Trump has planned to make changes to the nation’s budget for the Department of Health and Human Services, calling for an 18 percent cut worth $51.1 billion. For some, this raises questions about the fate of local teen health program Teen Matters.
“Clarke County has been really, really good at working with the health department and keeping the funding for community-based programs. They’ve been really good about finding the money to keep these programs up and running,” Clarke Central High School nurse Jessica Weems said.
According to Weems, if funding for the program is cut due to Trump’s budget plans and hours of operation decrease it may affect students’ access.
“What’s going to affect it is what money they get to match from the state and the state gets that money from the federal government. It’s politics. I don’t think it’s going to erase it and take it away completely. It may just affect the hours they’re open,” Weems said. “It may make it more inconvenient because it may not be open right across the street where they can walk to it. They may have to find other means of transportation.”
Above is a map of the Teen Matters locations across Northeast Health District.
Before Weems became the nurse at CCHS, she had experience working at the Cedar Shoals High School Teen Matters location and understands its importance to teens and students.
“There were some (teens) that really took the counseling and education I gave them,” Weems said. “We did exams. We did counseling. We did education. So more of that is a one-on-one basis and there were some girls and boys that really benefited.”
Junior Violet Goolsby believes the program helps kids stay in school by helping them medically.
“I think it’s saving a lot of people’s lives because a lot of people, if they have an abortion they will be able to stay in school and all that so it’s helping them out,” Goolsby said.
Physical education department teacher Trey Henson, who has training in health and sexual education, believes students would have to find another resource if the hours or cut or the location were moved.
“I know a lot of them use that resource, so they’re going to have to find somewhere else. There’s the health department. There’s a different couple other options,” Henson said. “If that were to occur, they would have to find somewhere else to find those services.”
CCHS junior Jalisa Griggs believes a decrease in hours open will make it more difficult for students to get resources, such as contraceptives, provided by Teen Matters.
“I want to do things with my partner or whoever I’m doing it with and I want to be safe. I just don’t go in there (unprotected),” Griggs said. “Now you’re taking that away from me and taking the time I would have been there to do it.”
Theresa Hale, Health Counselor and Clerk at Teen Matters, believes the program will remain available to teens who need them despite changes in hours.
“With the Central clinic, they’re open some mornings as well as in the afternoons so those hours might decrease,” Hale said. “I still think if teens need our resources we’ll be there and they can still come by and access them.”
Marcia Massengill, the County Nurse Manager, oversees all four clinics in Clarke County, including the two Teen Matters clinics. Massengill agrees the clinics provide a necessary service to help keep kids in school.
“We want all teenagers to finish school, graduate, be able to go further their education or get jobs or whatever they want to do,” Massengill said. “It’s essential for us to be there so teens have a place where they feel comfortable to go to to ask those questions and to access those services.”
As of right now, Trump’s plans are not in motion. However, the program’s budget depends on whether the plans are approved.
“Teen Matters is a very good service that offers counseling and education that most teens may not have access to if they don’t have a clinic right across the street or a clinic at their local health department,” Weems said. “It also provides a lot of community support and it’s something that is needed because it has decreased teen pregnancy and I think it’s something that should continue.”
