With 15 years under her belt as a guidance counselor and the central program director for Bladen and Washington County Public schools, Janis Pulliam knows her fair share about teen well-being.

Pulliam accumulated experience as a health educator early on in her career with a master’s in health education and work at Wilmington Health Access for Teens. Now, as a part-time life coach developing plans and goals with people of all ages, Pulliam is helping improve the lives of the people of her community by showing them how to have safer, healthier lives. It is no surprise that she has become the new executive director for Pender Alliance for Teen Health (PATH).

PATH is a non-profit organization interested in improving health insurance for adolescents-with outreach efforts to teens in Burgaw, Hampstead, and Topsail Beach. The group’s overall mission is to improve physical and mental health, as well as provide health education to students and teens in the Pender County area.

“Our first focus is on the children.” Pulliam said. “Our hope is to inform them of their options because many simply don’t know what services are available.”

It’s no secret that with about 80 percent of teens at or below the poverty level in Burgaw, access to health care is far from simple, Pulliam said. In fact, emergency doctor visits for children under the age of 18 must be taken 30 minutes away to New Hanover Regional Medical Center.

In accordance with the Pender Resource Network, a non-profit group providing counseling services and medical referrals to the community, PATH also wishes to compile a list for teens and their parents that will aid in their knowledge and accessibility to health care and will be easily available through a website.

PATH is moving forward fast to make sure it will grow and reach the community, she said.

“The first step would be to secure a mobile unit to reach teens, since many do not have access to cars, and we can come to them,” Pulliam said.

With hopes to eventually provide students with in-school health centers and facilities for medical visits, PATH is currently meeting with more healthcare providers who already provide services to teens in the area.

Also in the works is a teen advisory counsel, comprised of mostly middle school and high school students, who could supply the organization with a firsthand look at what is happening in the schools. Outreach efforts of these students to their peers could include plays, artwork, and music. “We want to use students’ talents to help form the message that their peers will listen to.” Pulliam said.