On Point has spent seventeen years working with teens, listening to their needs and studying the latest research in youth development.  So much of our experience serving young people has borne out the truth of the following:

1. Teens are hardwired to connect.

A recent study states that an increasing number of young people are engaging in risk behaviors due to a lack of connectedness to positive influences (peers and adults) as well as lack of clear moral purpose.  The study found that these connections were as essential to teen health as are food, water, and shelter!  And On Point addresses this need: our Think On Point curriculum challenges students to think critically about each of these issues, and the Live On Point program adds to this the positive support of small group relationships!

2. Risk behaviors cluster.

Our local focus groups with teens confirm national research that risk behaviors are linked.  Sexual activity among teens has been scientifically linked to poor academic performance, violence, substance abuse, increased truancy; kids involved in one of these tend to be involved in others as well.  Gone are the days of treating behaviors as stand-alone issues.  For this reason, the On Point programs address the wide range of risk behaviors, helping teens see the connections and the root issues beneath them all.

3. Education is not enough; today's young people need assets.

Social scientists agree that risk and protective factors related to community, family, peers, and self, heavily influence an adolescent’s behavior .  To address these linked risk behaviors, communities must go beyond the strategy of education alone, providing ongoing support and the development of positive life skills.  For this reason, On Point constructed its Life On Point curriculum around the developmental assets today's young people need, grouped under five headings: Self-Discovery; Life Vision, Life Skills; Healthy Life Choices; Positive Support; and Leadership for Service.

Because risk behaviors cluster, youth programs need to begin addressing the family of root issues affecting a teen's behavior.  To truly bring change, we must give education first, and then go further to give positive connections and life skills training to youth.

This is the method of On Point; this is what makes our programs so effective.