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Madison Parish 4-H Agent Trey Newsome is actively working to combat unhealthy habits in northeast Louisiana by educating teens on the importance of personal and community health and by empowering them to advocate for healthier lifestyle choices.
Newsome partnered with Joy Sims and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Healthy Communities program to create a coalition of teen ambassadors to lead this healthy living initiative using the national 4-H Youth Positive Energy program.
The coalition is called the Madison Parish Healthy Youth Positive Energy (MADHYPE). This program empowers youth to make their voices heard and to ultimately improve the health and safety of the community.
One step that the teen leaders took to create a healthier community was organizing monthly communitywide cleanups. They noted that the parish had a large amount of litter. Tackling the issue of litter in the parish was their first tangible step to improving the overall health of their community. The teens learned that they can be leaders and use their own voices to create change, rather than complaining about issues.
As this program has grown, the teens leaders have become ambassadors for health and are involving their whole families to take steps in having a healthier community.
The LSU AgCenter and the LSU College of Agriculture
