ORANGEBURG COUNTY, S.C. — A workshop in Orangeburg aims to help empower parents to tackle uncomfortable topics about relationships and sexual intimacy with their teenagers. The workshop is facilitated by Columbia-based nonprofit Weight of Words in an effort to bridge the gap between parents and their children.
“It’s opened me up to my past and how you must communicate with the young people on their level," said one attendee Beverly Bonaparte.
Bonaparte works directly with youth as director of a food pantry in Bamberg County. Through this community service role, she mentors youth volunteers, and says she is learning how to connect with them.
“I enjoy what I do and I’m taking different classes now to be a better me so that I can better help the young people that I’m around on a daily basis," she said.
They're being taught information about sexual health and relationships that they can pass onto others.
“Youth today have so many places they can get misinformation from Tiktok, friends, the internet and so forth. So this training allows kids to get the facts," said Weight of Words founder Quinn Hayes.
Pastor Whitney Davis works with the Bamberg County HYPE team, a group of youth ages 12-17.
"They're dealing with a lot of things especially in my community," says Davis, “You give them the opportunity to navigate the conversation but make them feel comfortable knowing that the door’s always open," said attendee Pastor Whitney Davis.
The workshop was funded by a grant from nonprofit Fact Forward. For more information about upcoming workshops, visit Weight of the Words website.