PEER LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
Ocean's Harbor House's Peer Leadership Program consists of a group of teens who meet once a week for the purpose of planning and implementing activities that will serve, in some way, to improve the community in which they live. In the past, the Peer Leaders have been involved in beach clean-ups, putting together food baskets with the Upper Room Soup Kitchen in Lakewood, working with the Friends of Gene Simmons Soup Kitchen, and performing spring cleaning in Popcorn Park Zoo.
Last year, the Peer Leaders embarked on creating a community project that infused their passion for music and the arts with an environment that would provide a safe, drug-free/alcohol-free/tobacco-free activity for youth between the ages of 14 and 18. The opening of a coffeehouse gave young people the opportunity to shine by displaying their talents within the realm of the arts. Since then the coffeehouse has been held 3 more times with 100-150 teens coming out.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the teens exhibited their own heart and dedication to helping those affected by such a tragedy. They worked together in assembling small care packages that were being sent to those in the throes of Louisiana's devastation which contained toiletries and health care products.
Also, on March 9, 2006, the Peer Leaders embarked on their most ambitious project yet as they pooled together and created a TAKE BACK THE NIGHT Rally at the Brick Township Library on Chambers Bridge Road. TAKE BACK THE NIGHT is an international organization which has inspired both men and women to confront a number of social problems, including rape, sexual violence, domestic violence, violence against children, and violence against women. Taking these themes to heart, the Peer Leaders created a program which ran from 6:30-7pm for the purpose of raising awareness of those issues through the use of videos, a self-produced multi-media presentation, and speakers from various organizations which specialize directly with these issues. Some peer leaders even shared their own personal experiences dealing with these issues in hopes of inspiring others to speak out against such injustice and take a stand against the abuser.
The Peer Leadership Program is excited with many new ideas for the coming months. If you know any teens between the ages of 12-18 who would be interested in becoming a part of the Peer Leadership Program, please feel free to contact Bill Sanchez at 732-929-4001 or click here to email him.