ANNEX TEEN CLINIC

The Annex's vision is to be a catalyst for creating a community where all young people have the resources and support they need to successfully make the transition from adolescence to adulthood. We aim to improve the sexual health of adolescents and to be a clinic that parents trust.

The Annex will continue to make youth voice a priority in its programs, services, and operations. We will strengthen our commitment to the principles of positive youth development, youth-adult partnerships, and continuing education for all of our staff and volunteers. The Annex is proud to offer parent education programs and to provide the resources and support that parents need to be the primary sexuality educators of their children.

The Annex's 5-year strategic plan (2015-2020) includes 8 position statements with a variety of strategies to meet each one. The positions we aim to hold in 2020 are:
The Annex is an essential community provider of high quality, accessible services for adolescent sexual health.
Work is driven by positive youth development principles.
The Annex is a critical access point for advancing and coordinating young people's health and wellness goals.
Parents, professionals, and youth advocates consider the Annex a high quality resource on adolescent sexual health.
The public understands how the Annex positively contributes to young people's lives.
The Annex thrives on diverse and sustainable finances.
The Annex provides a challenging and supportive environment for mission-driven employees and volunteers.
Strong leaders promote innovation, embrace best practices, and ensure longevity.

We have a 45-year history of partnering with young people to provide the confidential clinical services and factual information they need to make good decisions for themselves. With the completion of our new strategic plan, the Annex has made the strategic decision to remain focused solely on adolescent sexual health. At the same time, we've made the decision that partnerships with other youth serving organizations are critical to our ability to achieve positive sexual health outcomes. We know young people grapple with an array of interrelated needs, and these needs impact their sexual health outcomes. Because of our longstanding reputation as a trusted provider of confidential services, young people disclose their need for additional support (e.g. mental and chemical health, self-harm, abusive relationships, homelessness, and more). As such, the Annex is a critical access point for young people in need of additional services. We have made the strategic decision to focus exclusively on sexual health with the recognition that it needs to be done broadly and in partnership with other youth-friendly organizations.

We have rich and long standing relationships with numerous schools who depend on the Annex for the delivery of sexuality education in their curriculum. The Annex utilizes best practices to provide fact-based interactive education, and is able to respond to the schools' unique needs. One teacher noted: “Annex staff are professional, kind, and relevant. They know how to work with our student population and are able to deliver the sex education curriculum more effectively than our school's staff." These presentations provide the knowledge base for positive attitude and behavior change: 90% of participants report they are more knowledgeable and confident in their ability to prevent an infection or unintended pregnancy following an Annex presentation. Importantly, these community presentations connect young people to clinical services; over 50% of clinic patients report learning about the Annex through a classroom presentation. Informed young people make good decisions for themselves.

An over 40% decrease in the teen birth rate over the last 5 years is cause for celebration! However, there remain significant disparities in birth rates between white youth and youth of color. The Annex is proud to serve a diverse patient base and aims to reduce those disparities in the coming years.

We know there will always be a need for confidential, nonjudgmental sexual health services for adolescents. Establishing and maintaining trust with young people is imperative to delivering successful education and clinical services, and we are proud of our 45 year track record as a trusted provider.