Teen Health Arkansas Expands Statewide, Bringing Honest Health Conversations to Teens and Parents

By Wesley Brown, Arkansas Black Vitality Executive Editor

March 22, 2026 – Founded during the COVID‑19 pandemic to ensure teen health conversations weren’t lost in crisis, Teen Health Arkansas is now expanding statewide—bringing judgment‑free discussions on mental health, relationships, and consent to communities across Arkansas.

Today, the Little Rock-based organization is poised to expand across the entire state, offering teens, families, and communities access to resources and pursuing local programs for comprehensive health education and advocacy training. That work builds on a model first developed in Mississippi nearly a decade ago,

In an interview with Arkansas Black Vitality, Teen Health Arkansas Executive Director Hope Crenshaw said that since the organization’s early beginnings in 2020, the initiative was first introduced in Arkansas through young people from Helena who participated in trainings in Teen Health Mississippi in Clarksdale, Miss.

That initial meeting led to “Teen Talk Arkansas” pilot programs in ten Arkansas communities last year. Those sessions allowed teens and parents, gathered in peer groups, to engage in facilitated discussions on topics such as mental health, relationships, consent, and sexual health, in an honest, judgment-free environment.

“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,” Crenshaw said.

The pilot programs held meetings in several communities, including West Memphis, Brinkley, and Eudora, receiving strong local response, feedback, and participation. The Teen Talk conversations at New Bethel Church in West Memphis were “eye-opening” and revealed deeper challenges that youth and teenagers face every day, said church liaison Ursula Weems.

“The response from parents floored me,” Weems said. “They weren’t just open to conversation. They were desperate for it. Teen Talk Arkansas is equipping teens and parents to make responsible and informed decisions.”

Crenshaw explained Teen Health Arkansas’s mission to influence young people by providing important health and wellness information to teens and the adults who influence them, such as schools, faith-based organizations, and parents. She said attendance at these pilot events varied by community, with the smallest event having about 15 young people and 7 or 8 adults, while the largest had about 30 participants in total.

Hope said the organization’s holistic 360-degree approach is what sets Teen Health Arkansas apart from other youth outreach programs, “building power with and supporting young people on their journey to adulthood …”

Crenshaw highlighted the success of their pilot programs, which revealed that Arkansas teens often feel dismissed when discussing their well-being and mental health, with some experiencing dismissive responses like being told to clean their room instead of addressing their concerns.

“How we frame it is trusted community leaders and organizations—bringing parents and students together,” said the Mississippi native. “Sometimes it’s a church. Sometimes it’s the wise person sitting on the front porch that everybody talks to.”

Citing the heart of Teen Health Arkansas’s work, Crenshaw shared a powerful incident in South Arkansas in which a teenager shockingly expressed a desire to become pregnant, catching her and other staff off guard.

“She said she wanted a baby because she felt alone,” Crenshaw recalled, shaking her head. “That conversation wasn’t just about reproductive health—it was about mental health and feeling like she just needed somebody to love her.”

By taking the time to sit down and listen to the young person’s story, Teen Health Arkansas was able to humanize a personal issue without sensationalizing it, and understand the complexity of youth decision‑making

From that experience and so many others like it, Crenshaw said young people in Arkansas are sharing their desire for open, ongoing conversations with trusted adults, particularly on topics such as relationships, sexual consent, and boundaries.

Kim Caldwell, Teen Health Arkansas’s senior director of communications, cited a 2023 study emphasizing the importance of positive communication between parents and teens as a key indicator of long-term health and well-being. That study, which surveyed more than 15,000 young Americans, found that those who reported more positive relationships with their parents in adolescence reported better general and behavioral health outcomes later in life.

With the pilot programs now completed, Teen Health Arkansas is strengthening its leadership team and organizational structure within the state, growing from three to 13 staff members since its founding as an Arkansas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit in August 2021.

Teen Health Arkansas’s pilot program was adapted from Teen Health Mississippi, a sex education and teen health initiative founded in 2017. The program originated from Mississippi First’s CHART initiative, created after the state’s 2011 law requiring school districts to adopt sex education policies.

Regarding Teen Health Arkansas’s funding, Crenshaw stated that the Little Rock-based nonprofit’s financial support comes from state contracts, organizational payments, philanthropic donations, and donor contributions, a diversification that has been vital during challenging times.

“We want to make Arkansas the healthiest place for young people, and we do that by letting them lead and be part of the work,” said Crenshaw. “But it starts with education, information, and honest dialogue.”

To learn more, teens, parents, and community leaders can visit teenhealthar.org to access resources and opportunities. The site provides additional details on programs available in Arkansas and ways to collaborate with Teen Health Arkansas to bring these programs to local communities. It also features a Resources section with links to comprehensive health resources to support youth development for teens and parents.