MIT Solve

Solution Overview & Team Lead Details

Solution name.

The Locke Project

Provide a one-line summary of your solution.

Teenagers giving teenagers access to safe, informative sex and health education.

What specific problem are you trying to solve?

The immediate problem we are attempting to solve is the inadequate sexual education programs administered to the adolescents and teenagers of our community. Many teenagers are affected by this, as they are not given the appropriate education they need in order to safely understand their health and identity. For example, our state, Nevada, has a very high LGBTQ+ population and lots of the LGBTQ+ youth population is overlooked and not given resources

Elevator pitch

What is your solution?

The Locke Project is an innovative website that provides free, accurate, and safe sex and health education for tweens and teens. Monitored and mediated by teenagers, we've accumulated resources relating to anatomy, mental health, gender studies, sexuality, safe sex, and relationships that we would find helpful. Since our team members' personal, current sexual education programs are outdated, our website is modern and relevant to current teenage needs and wants. Our goal is to educate teenagers who may not have an appropriate and relatable curriculum. The website is manageable and easy to read which makes it more convenient for our customers to find specific information.

Who does your solution serve? In what ways will the solution impact their lives?

Our target population is tweens, teenagers, and adolescents (ages 9-18) who may not have a sexual education program that meets their needs. Lots of current sexual education programs don't provide students with enough information about sexuality, gender/identity, and mental health which is very important during this stage of their lives and can affect both their mental and physical health. Since these programs have been created by adults, they are not aware of current needs and wants of modern teenagers. This solution will give adolescents free and proper education about their sexual and mental health for them to access on their own time to educate themselves. Our overall goal is to give teenagers information they will utilize for the rest of their lives.

How are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?

Our team is a diverse group of students who planned to make a change about the sexual education programs given in our current public school system. While brainstorming, we came to a similar conclusion that our sexual education programs were not efficient or helpful enough to inform us about serious topics that follow sexual education. We also made sure to include other topics such as mental health, sexuality, and gender/identity as some of our team have gone through issues relating to those subjects. Our team also has numerous members of the LGBTQ+ and have handpicked information that they believe would be beneficial.

What steps have you taken to understand the needs of the population you want to serve?

We have found intel from other students that include subjects they didn’t see in their sexual education.

Which aspects of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?

Improving healthcare access and health outcomes; and reducing and ultimately eliminating health disparities (Health)

What is your solution’s stage of development?

Pilot: An organization deploying a tested product, service, or business model in at least one community

In what city, town, or region is your solution team located?

Reno, NV, USA

Who is the Team Lead for your solution?

Caroline Beilke