Direct Services
Our work in prevention began in the late 1970s with a small team of dedicated health educators who took our Me-ology program to the Grade 6 students in Hillsborough County to present to them the skills and knowledge they would need to aim for and reach the goals they would set out to reach. From those early lessons came the development of the comprehensive Too Good programs now offered to school children K-12 nationwide. While our work has evolved over the years, we still go to school every day to teach our work to children in Hillsborough County.
Primary Prevention Education
At the core of all the Mendez Foundation programs, is the development of self-efficacy and interpersonal skills, which prepare children to make positive life decisions and set achievable goals.
As an extension of the program development activities of the Mendez Foundation, our team of Prevention Educators takes the Too Good programs to school as part of our partnership with the Florida Department of Children and Families and various local schools to build protective factors among the children in the Tampa area.
Talking to children to make the right choice today prepares them to make a healthy choice today, but giving children the skills and the tools to make those healthy choices on their own and understand what influences them will ready them for a lifetime.
Summer Parks
Prevention education is most effective when treated in multiple, consecutive installments. As they say, practice makes perfect, and practicing self-efficacy and interpersonal skills makes for lasting effects.
To keep the learning on the boil, we partner with the City of Tampa’s Parks and Recreation Department to provide prevention education activities int eh city’s recreation centers each summer to bridge the gap between the school years.
This exciting program keeps the kids engaged and we get to keep our prevention skills sharp too.
