Member Spotlight: Anneke Demmink

Name: Anneke Demmink

Position: Clinical Health Educator

Degree: Psychology and Sociology from UNC

Hometown: Roaring Gap, NC

Favorite part of Jacksonville:  Living in the Riverside area

Currently working on:  Applications to graduate school programs for my Masters in Public Health.

I am currently serving as an AmeriCorps member with the North Florida Health Corps. As a Clinical Health Educator with the Maternal and Child Health Division of the Duval County Health Department, I provide education about reproductive and sexual health topics and family planning services to the community of Jacksonville, Florida. In addition to health education, I conducted pre- and post-test counseling for HIV screenings. My services are split between Jacksonville Job Corps, a federally funded vocational program for youth, and the Rainbow Center at Shands Hospital which is primarily a clinic for HIV positive individuals.
During the first four months of my service term I have accomplished a great deal. These accomplishments include personal growth, as well as the growth of knowledge within the community I am serving as a result of my health education efforts. I strongly believe that I am learning as much from this experience as my clients are learning from their sessions with me. I am gaining invaluable perspective and insights from the conversations and opportunities I get to participate in as a part of my AmeriCorps service.  I am more culturally aware and informed than I have ever been. In addition, my communication skills have vastly improved as well as my sensitivity to health topics. Perhaps the most beneficial of all, is my increased awareness of the type of health issues the underserved community of Jacksonville faces everyday.

Anneke demonstrates how to properly use a condom.

The community of Jacksonville is a special one.  Many of its youth are eager to learn and better their own lives given the knowledge and appropriate tools to do so. Thus has been my experience serving at Jacksonville Job Corps.  The students that attend Job Corps are there for one reason: To gain the skills and certifications that will make them more employable and able to succeed in the workforce. A large number of these youth never finished high school and will be working towards achieving their GED as well as other certifications such as Certified Nurse Assistant, Pharmacy Technician, Computer Science Technician, and more. In my experience, many these students are not only eager to become more employable, but they are also ready to take responsibility for their health and well-being.  This is an important step in bettering their own lives that will have a lasting impact on their future.
For many of these students, I am the first person to have an open and honest conversation with them about sexual and reproductive health. I take great pride in knowing that I am giving these students information that will encourage them to make decisions in such a way that promotes a safe and healthy sexual experience. It is difficult to expect people to behave in health conscious and responsible ways without providing them adequate information and knowledge to do so. I consider myself lucky enough to be one of the people helping to spread this knowledge that can directly improve the well-being and health of the Jacksonville community. It’s inspiring how receptive my clients are to the information I provide them. Their positive responses and feedback give me direct proof that what I am doing is making a difference. There’s nothing more satisfying or encouraging as that.