News & Insights

If young people have access to just one caring adult who’s willing to listen to them and have hard conversations, young people are poised to succeed

That’s why I’m here – to grow our investment in youth so it’s bigger than the problems facing them. To make this investment reach every home where a teen wonders what their life will become – and how they can reach their dreams from where they are now.

Birth Control has come a long way since “the pill” became available more than 65 years ago. With advancements in medicine, contraception has more options to fit an individual’s biology, lifestyle, and purpose for using it. Meet ArkansasBirthControl.org (ABC).

Teen Health Arkansas launched to shift the narrative for teens. And it’s a shift Arkansas adults need to hear. If we’re not going to help the future of our state, then who is? When adults shrug and say that some conversations are too uncomfortable we lose ground to silence, misinformation and shame.

“What we know is that it’s the parent-child connection — or the parent, adult, trusted adult connection — that really pushes youth health outcomes forward in positive, proactive ways,” said Hope Crenshaw said.

In March 2026, KUAF host Kyle Kellams interviewed Teen Health Mississippi and Arkansas Executive Director Hope Crenshaw, PhD, and volunteer Ursula Weems for Ozarks at Large.

No one said having important health conversations with teenagers was going to be easy, but does it have to be so hard? With Teen Health Arkansas, it doesn’t have to be.

“Simply put, Teen Health Arkansas is about having conversations in Arkansas without passing the lives of young people through the lens of adults or legislators,” Hope Crenshaw, PhD, said.

Teen Health Arkansas launches with new resources for teens, families and communities to support healthy youth development Released February 4, 2026 With the new Teen