Originated in 1996.They began with a mission that was to provide HIV & STD prevention services to teens considered at risk for contracting HIV/AIDS. It began as a ministry funded through the faith initiative grants awarded to The Basilica Of St. Mary of The Immaculate Conception’s HIV/AIDS Ministry from 1996 – 2006 by Virginia Department of Health. The coordinator and originator for the youth ministry Teens With a Purpose was Deirdre A. Love, the founder and current Executive Director for TWP – The Youth Movement. Over the next ten years they have had substantial growth. In 2007 Teens With Purpose became a community based organization and were incorporated in 2008. They currently operate as Teens With A Purpose- The Youth Movement, a community based not for profit organization serving all of Hampton Roads, VA.
With their growth came a new mission statement:
“To provide young people with a platform to empower their peers to use their voices, their energy, and their abilities to demonstrate the power to effect personal change, improve the lives of others, and foster a more knowledgeable community that is more invested in both themselves and each other using the arts and through peer-led programs and events. Emphasize education on and prevent of the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Provide a nonjudgmental, safe, environment for self expression for all young people.”
TWP prides their selves on being different. They are peer led and use free programs that are geared towards at risk and low income youth in Norfolk with services expanding to the surrounding cities. They are the only youth led organization in Hampton Roads whose primary focus is youth empowerment and HIV prevention and education.
