Claremont — TLC Family Resource Center in Claremont has received a $25,000 grant to purchase a new van that will be used to reach teens and teach them about sexual health and relationships. 

TLC applied for money to be used as part of the Sexual Health Information Network and Education (SHINE) program, which brings medically-accurate, comprehensive and inclusive sexual health information to young people at locations throughout Sullivan County.

“We’re super excited about being able to take our prevention program’s message to the streets. It’s sure to turn heads — and so be a catalyst for some much-needed conversations about sexual health in the communities we serve,” Liza Draper, SHINE Coordinator, said in a news release.

The grant was part of the AMP Grant Program, a competition for New Hampshire nonprofit organizations that rewards novel, entrepreneurial and innovative ideas to solve critical issues facing the state. The program is sponsored by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation’s Entrepreneur’s Fund of New Hampshire Grant Program.

“The pitch process was challenging but the stakes are high to keep teens safe and we need to take action,” TLC’s Executive Director Maggie Monroe-Cassel said. 

She pointed out that Sullivan County’s teen birth rates are twice that of the state average and sexually-transmitted diseases are becoming more common in the county. The SHINE program currently reaches just 75 of the 2,500 teens in Sullivan county, but Monroe-Cassel hopes that the van will expand outreach opportunities beginning with the SAU 6 Back-to-School Festival, which is held in Claremont just before the school year starts.

“The good news is that studies show that if teens are educated about sexual health and relationships, they wait longer to start having sex,” she said. “We need to educate our teens with face-to-face conversation. Going mobile will help us reach more teens where they are.”