To bring health and sexual wellness information to an accessible level can be a daunting task — especially when reaching out to college students. However, PEEPs (Peer Health and Empowerment for Peers) works to do just that.
PEEPs runs programs to promote health education and information about sexually transmitted diseases, drugs and alcohol, healthy living, contraception and sexual health. They work with the Center for Health Education and Wellness (CHEW) and help promote Student Health and Wellness.
Student groups can request PEEPs to host an event, many of which are familiar around campus. "Stop @ Buzzed" has been a student favorite and their promotional shirts, "Don't be that girl/guy" are still ubiquitous around campus.
Junior Aishwarya Rajagopalan has been involved since last fall when she learned that CHEW was accepting applications for Peer Health Educators.
The application process is straight forward. Following an online application, candidates are selected to be interviewed by CHEW Directors Alanna Biblow and Barbara Gwinn as well as current PEEPs members. Students in PEEPs can give their input during the selection process, but the final decision comes down to the Directors of CHEW.
Though many members in PEEPs are Public Health majors, it is not a requirement. Diversity of interest and major is criteria in CHEW's recruitment for new Peer Health Educators.
Once admitted to the organization, students are then trained to be Peer Health Educators through module training.
"We know all about referral skills, basic college and adolescent health. We know about listening skills and preventative health care for college-aged students. We know a little bit about counseling skills but we're obviously not counselors," Rajagopalan said. "We can relay that information to you because we're certified to do that well so we can send you in the right direction if you need help."
This year, however, Rajagopalan said they have incorporated more on-the-job training. They've gone to Alcoholic Anonymous meetings in Baltimore and even worked on their own behavioral changes.
"We're learning to practice what we try to teach. So that's something new this year where we go into the community and look within ourselves so were telling these people ways to be healthy and we're doing them too," Rajagopalan said.
Changes evolve through discussion in the Peer Health Advisory Board which is comprised of several individuals from PEEPs, Hopkins Kicks Butt, Stressbusters and the groups' advisors. They meet about once a semester to discuss broader issues, areas that need improvement and future ideas.
On campus, PEEPs is responsible for several recognizable campaigns aside from "Stop @ Buzzed." During Valentine's Day, they hand out condoms and STI-test kits to "spread the message of being safe and healthy" according to Rajagopalan. They do around 10 programs a semester and during the Fall season a lot in the dorms.
They also receive campus support during these events. "When we do a school-wide campaign like ‘Stop@ Buzzed' we try to collaborate with major players like Res Life and when we want to do something around Valentine's Day we cooperate with the HOP," she said. Both groups have consistently supported PEEPs and student life, though Rajagopalan did note that this can potentially expand. "We're hoping to branch out and work with the Feminist and other groups like that more often in the future."
Programs are conceived of at the beginning of semester when PEEPs members can give ideas. Some members of PEEPs are involved for one or two academic credits and they create their own program. This means that they need to compile the research and potential activities before presenting it to PEEPs as a whole for voting as to whether it should be included in their current repertoire. Though most people are involved in PEEPs as a student group, either way gives a member "an equal voice in the [program selection] process," Rajagopalan said.
A new program is "iChef," which teaches students about dorm cooking with ingredients and materials that can be found in Charles St. Market. "We try to tailor things to what people need," she said.
After all, the point of PEEPs is to reach out to students and present them with relevant information. Though having peer-to-peer communication about important information like sexual and mental health can be difficult.
"Sometimes it's hard to reach out to JHU students just because we're all so busy with school and other aspects of our lives, but when we do finally make a connection, it's so worth it.. .You'd be surprised how many people suffer from overwhelming stress and other indicators of poor health at Hopkins, yet still rate their health as something much better," Rajagopalan said.
"The hardest part of the job is probably staying impartial. There are so many situations in which it would be easy to insert your own personal opinion or your values, but you just can't do that," she said.
"We aren't judging people or telling them what to do. We're about giving people information to make their own informed decisions. We're about risk production. We know about college health so we're trying to make it safer and healthier for everyone else."
