The Knox County Teen Advisory Council (TAC) has launched a podcast series for high school students on topics such as dating, violence and alcohol use.
It's called Tuesday TAC Chat, with new episodes posted each Tuesday.
"It's youth-led," Lindsey Lamp, adviser to the group, told the Mount Vernon News. "I just help support them."
Currently, 38 teens participate in the TAC program, Lamp said.
"It's a space where like-minded individuals can come together and be their unique, authentic selves," she said. "It's a space that welcomes anyone. What we find is that our TAC members are going out sharing content on social media, wearing products that they have created, and really talking about these topics. That is recruiting other teens."
TAC students from across the county meet once a month, and advisers travel to each school to meet with them as well.
The podcast was created as a way to share information and discussions of the meetings.
A dozen episodes have been aired so far, with four more scheduled, Lamp said.
Parents are among the listeners.
"Parents will say, 'My kid is very opinionated, and they shared their opinions very well on the podcast; they had valid points,'" Lamp said.
The teens lead the podcast conversations.
"When they come in prepared for a podcast, they have all their talking points prepared," she said. "The facilitator just goes with the flow of what their goal for the podcast. We do very little editing on it because we want it to be as authentic as possible."
An episode on "red flags and green flags" of teen relationships has so far been the most popular, followed by another one on relationships.
"This is a great way for them to have a safe space for them to talk about what they want to talk about and share their viewpoints and opinions," Lamp said.
The program is aimed at helping teens manage their anxieties.
"We know in Knox County, 78% of our high school students feel anxious every week," Lamp said. "We have that data."
Teen anxiety is easy for adults to minimize, she said.
"We can say, 'Back in my day, this is what we did,'" Lamp said. "That's not what teens want. They just want to be heard. They want you to actively listen and share your opinion. This provides a space for them to do that."
For many, the teenage years are even more difficult these days, Lamp said.
"The social media, the pressures that they have," she said. "They are putting pressure on themselves and then they think those pressures come from society. It's really hard for them to navigate and figure all of that out."
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