about peer health exchange

Peer Health Exchange’s mission is to build healthier communities with young people. Together, we create education opportunities for peers to share the tools and resources young people need to make healthy decisions.
72%
increase in pregnancy prevention knowledge
67%
decrease in discomfort talking about sex
98%
of young people felt selfsea was a safe place
76%
of young people felt less alone after watching selfsea videos
72%
increase in pregnancy prevention knowledge
67%
decrease in discomfort talking about sex
98%
of young people felt selfsea was a safe place
76%
of young people felt less alone after watching selfsea videos

our impact, by the numbers

Peer Health Exchange has worked with more than 500,000 young people, across the country, to build healthier communities in school settings.

download our strategic plan evaluation report

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our approach

Peer Health Exchange partners with high schools that share our belief that health education is fundamental to a young person’s success. As an organization committed to advancing health equity, Peer Health Exchange works with under-resourced high schools where the majority of students are living in poverty. These schools partner with Peer Health Exchange to supplement or provide their health education program.

youth engagement

We can’t do our work without you! Please check out our open opportunities to join our team. Apply for those that best match your interests and availability.

Opportunities are available to young people ages 13-18 and come with financial incentives. We particularly encourage those who identify as BIPOC, Latinx, and/or LGBTQ+ to apply.

We also offer opportunities for near peers, aged 18-24, to support our work. These also come with financial incentives. We particularly encourage those who identify as BIPOC, Latinx, and/or LGBTQ+ to apply here as well.

diversity, equity, and inclusion

What we mean by “pro-liberation”: To get free we acknowledge that white supremacy, patriarchy and other systems of oppression and violence exist. We know that shared liberation requires us all to participate in our collective healing, and for our part, we strive to mitigate their oppressive effects while promoting and supporting each young person we work with through our culturally appropriate, trauma-informed offerings.

this is selfsea.

selfsea is a place created inclusively with and for young people as a safe space to share knowledge on identity, mental and sexual health.

our values

Our core values form the foundation of our organizational culture and guide our approach to achieving our mission and vision.

health equity

Every young person deserves a healthy, happy life—We believe in a world where every young person has full access and every opportunity to a healthy, happy life. To make this a reality, we commit to a pro-liberation approach while working alongside the young people we serve to dismantle unequal power structures that hurt us all, but especially those with marginalized identities. To read more about our commitment to equity click here.

commitment

We value our Team—We believe in supporting our people with meaningful and ongoing opportunities for impact, growth, and leadership. We value our Team and strive to help everyone at Peer Health Exchange reach their full potential— developing them in their careers and abilities and engaging them through their contributions.

communication

We rely on direct and honest exchange—We rely on direct and honest exchange for all that we do. We value communication as essential to articulating our vision and goals, forming strong relationships, working through challenges, and learning from and with our young people and partners.

agency

We believe in the potential of every young person—We believe in the potential of every young person. We work to empower young people to make active, informed choices about their health. In turn, we recognize the value each one of us brings to our work. We commit to making full use of our own agency as individuals and as an organization in service of our goals.

impact

We hold ourselves to meaningful and measurable outcomes—We know that achieving long-term success will require reflection, innovation, and sustained effort. To further our impact, we hold ourselves to meaningful and measurable outcomes, evaluate our successes and challenges openly, and act on what we learn.

our history

Peer Health Exchange was founded by young people, for young people. In 1999, six Yale undergraduates began teaching health workshops in New Haven public schools in order to fill the gap left by an underfunded, understaffed district health program. In 2003, the founding members of the group established Peer Health Exchange to replicate this successful program in other communities with unmet health education needs.

15K

College Students serving as Peer Health  Educators

188K+

High School-aged Young People Recieving Health Education

our partners