About Us
Mission and Vision
What is the Annex?
The Annex Teen Clinic is a reproductive health clinic serving adolescents and
young adults up to age 23 in Northwest Hennepin County and North Minneapolis.
The Annex has served as a valuable, trustworthy source of reproductive health
and education for 36 years.
The Annex aims to:
1. Improve the reproductive health of adolescents and young adults.
2. Prevent teen pregnancy.
The Annex Teen Clinic provides a full range of low cost family planning services
for teens including clinical services, referrals, follow-up and education. All
programs are designed to reinforce preventative behaviors that will decrease the
incidence of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. All services
are confidential and no one is turned away for the inability to pay.
Mission
The mission of the Annex is to support the young people of Northwest Hennepin
County and North Minneapolis in the challenging transition from adolescence to
adulthood through advocacy, health care and education.
View Channel 12's segment on the Annex!
Vision
The Annex will be a catalyst for creating a community where all young people
have the resources and support they need to successfully make the transition
from adolescence to adulthood.
History
Located in Robbinsdale, the Annex Teen Clinic was founded in 1971 through the
joint efforts of Holy Nativity Lutheran Church and St. Raphael's Roman Catholic
Church. The clinic's services were originally limited to testing and treatment
for sexually transmitted diseases, with a strong emphasis on health education.
In later years, the Annex became an independent, non-profit agency, and services
were expanded to include more comprehensive sexuality-related health services for
adolescents and young adults. The Annex now provides low-cost, sexuality-related
health care, health education, counseling and outreach to adolescents in North
and Northeast Minneapolis and northwest suburban Hennepin County. All services
are confidential and are offered free or on a sliding fee scale.
Partnerships and Collaborations
Collaborations with the Annex Teen Clinic include health educational programs and
community involvement such as Dads Make a Difference, the R.E.A.C.H. collaborative,
Celebration of Change, Celebration of Change for African American Females and the
Mosaic Youth Center.
The Annex Teen Clinic is a member of the Neighborhood Health Care Network, Trans
Youth Support Network,
SAFPLAN (Strategic Alliance for Family Planning), MOAPPP (Minnesota Organization
for Adolescent Pregnancy, Parenting and Prevention), SEFL (Sexuality Education for
Life), SFLE (Sexuality and Family Life Educators), the Association for Fundraising
Professionals, MAVA (Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration) and is
proud to be strongly aligned with West Suburban Teen Clinic and Teen Age Medical
Services (TAMS).
Best Practices
The Annex Teen Clinic incorporates various "Best Practices" principles in our programs, including:
A comprehensive, facts-based approach to sexuality education.
Effective Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) begins with parents or other primary
caregivers as the primary sexuality educators of their children. CSE is the provision
of accurate, factual and developmentally appropriate information and training on human
sexuality topics. CSE understands sexuality as a positive, healthy part of life and
teaches behavior that is respectful, responsible, non-exploitative and non-violent. CSE
recognizes and respects individuality and a wide range of community norms, cultures,
cultural beliefs, and language regarding healthy sexuality. CSE is designed to encourage
and support youth in developing their identities. CSE recognizes the importance of
communities, institutions and individuals working in partnership with families to raise
sexually healthy children.
Culturally competent services
The Annex Teen Clinic involves community members in the creation and improvement of our
services to ensure that programs meet the specific needs and concerns of communities in
a culturally and socially appropriate way. Participation also fosters a sense of ownership
that, in turn, enhances sustainability.
Parent education and connectedness
Providing resources and education to encourage and empower parents and caregivers to serve
as sexuality educators for their children.
Young people who are strongly "connected" to their parents are more likely to postpone
intercourse, have fewer sexual partners, and use contraception consistently. In the
research connectedness is considered family or parental closeness, warmth, support or
responsiveness. In studies, young people who reported feeling a lack of parental warmth,
love or caring were also more likely to report emotional distress, lower self-esteem,
school problems, drug use, and sexual risk behaviors.
The Annex Teen Clinic provides several parent/child educational programs around sexual
health and puberty, including: Celebration of Change, Beyond the Celebration, and Celebration
of Change for African American Females.
Collaborating with faith-based communities
The Annex Teen Clinic collaborates with faith communities to provide help facts-based sexual
health information with the unique values and norms of individual faith communities around
sexual health education.
Faith communities can play an important role in helping members "...to clarify their values,
build interpersonal skills, and understand the spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of
sexuality."
A Youth Development Framework
Youth development programs are based on the idea that strong bonds with schools, families
and support systems protect young people from risky behaviors. Young people have a set of
underlying needs -beyond biology -that, if met, will increase the possibility they will
grow into caring, competent adults.
Access to Confidential Health Care Services
In Minnesota, a minor's right to access confidential health care is guaranteed by Minnesota
Statute 144.341-347. Confidential access to information and services can help to reduce
risky behaviors; particularly behaviors that can lead to pregnancy and sexually transmitted
infections (STIs).
Research shows that adolescents may not access health services without the guarantee of
confidentiality. The minors' consent law does not ignore the value of parent-child communication.
In fact, health care professionals help adolescents reconnect and communicate better with parents
and adults.
Measurable outcomes
The Annex Teen Clinic utilizes the most current research and evaluation tools to assess
individual knowledge, attitude, skills and confidence with regard to program goal setting,
program planning, program evaluation, and improving and sustaining programs.
To learn more about legislation that impacts our mission and services, and to make your
voice heard, please visit the following websites:
LOCAL
Sexuality Education for Life - Minnesota
www.sexedforlife.org
Minnesota Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Prevention & Parenting (MOAPPP)
www.moappp.org
NATIONAL
Advocates for Youth
www.advocatesforyouth.org/index.htm
Impact of Abstinence-Only Education Programs
www.mathematica-mpr.com
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)
www.siecus.org
Achievements and Reports
The Annex Teen Clinic has been designated an Essential Community Provider by the Minnesota Department of Health.
The provided link outlines our Strategic Plan:
(Annex strategic plan link)- PDF file
Check out our Annual Reports with the provided links:
(Annual 2006)- PDF file
(Annual 2005)- PDF file
The Annex Teen Clinic as an exceptional organization
This year the Annex Teen Clinic received the “Meets all Standards” Seal from the Charities
Review Council, meeting or surpassing 16 Accountability Standards. The Seal is only granted
to exceptional nonprofit organizations that demonstrate responsibility, integrity and
transparency to their constituents.
The Annex Teen Clinic is listed as a reviewed organization on the online Giving Guide
of the Council’s Smart Givers Network, www.smartgivers.org, and the Council’s Smart
Giver newsletter distributed to more than 18,000 subscribers in Minnesota. The
listings help a nonprofit organization demonstrate its commitment to accountable
ethical practices to the public and that it is a trustworthy organization. The Council’s
Smart Givers Network is the source of unbiased information where smart givers come for
help and resources on responsible giving.
Recent press releases from the Annex Teen Clinic:
("Meets All Standards" Seal)- PDF file
(Guys Clinic)- PDF file