The Macon-Bibb Teen Health Center is getting a new logo thanks to the great minds of some teens in Macon. Wednesday, they revealed the winner of their logo design contest.
The winner is a freshman student from Wesleyan College. Her logo design for the center got the most votes on the Teen Health Center's Facebook and Instagram pages, but though there is a new look, the mission is the same.
"They can come in here and get teen pregnancy tests, STD testing, HIV testing. They can come in here and get health education. So anything with nutrition, relationships, whatever they want to talk about, so we're here to provide all those services for them,” says Stephanie Hyman, a health educator with the Macon-Bibb County Health Department.
They say the center hopes to lower the teen pregnancy rate in Macon. According to County Health Rankings, Bibb County's teen pregnancy rate is higher than the state average. It is at a rate of 45.2 per every 1,000 teen girls. Danielle Mitchell was one of them.
"I was pregnant at 15. I had my first child at 16. I continued going to Central High School and then I went to the teen parent center downtown in Macon,” recalls Mitchell.
Now that her son is 17-years-old, she knows that places like the Teen Health Center are great resources for those who need help.
"It prevents a lot of, you know, STDs and pregnancies. Not only that, you can come here and you can also speak with people and share your concerns with them before you even take that action,” says Mitchell.
She says now she knows education is key when it comes to teaching teens.
"It's very important that we educate the kids on different STDs and ways to prevent them. You've got to know in order to do better,” says Mitchell, something she says she hopes will help other young people in her community. The Teen Health Center opened in September of 2016. They serve teens ages 11 to 19. All of the services are free and do not require an adult.