Bringing the light from the street into the lives of hospitalized adolescents.

The Streetlight Team is made up of 15 to 20 young adult and college-age volunteers from the University of Florida, Santa Fe Community College, and the Gainesville community as well as professional associate members including Amir Shahlaee, MD; Maureen Novak, MD; Dawn Grinenko, MD; Kristin Joos, PhD; John Reiss, PhD; and John Graham-Pole, M.D. Members of our team work closely with John Reiss, PhD, who is a research author on the particular transitional needs of the adolescent moving to adult care. Sociology Professor Kristin Joos, PhD, provides valuable resources to young adults who feel derailed from college and career plans due to their illness.

Team members will soon make room visits with the Street Cart, providing movies, CDs & CD players, magazines, and most importantly, companionship. Behind the scenes, the team works to raise awareness of adolescent needs with UF and the community and to invite them to volunteer professional services like providing massages, makeovers, or music to our teens.

The team will soon begin to customize the room of each teenage patient with pop art and posters. They will also help them develop their own ShandsSpace, which is an artistic personality profile they make for their door representing everything about them that is not health-related – hobbies, pictures, music interests, and high school photos.

Our High School Streetlight Reps are our liaison with Gainesville area teenagers for getting donations of posters, CDs, and movies from their schools. Streetlight can generate service hours for those interested in getting more involved with the program. When our adolescent wing is available, we hope to fill it with hallway art from area high school student artists.

The Programming Team produces our weekly teen night called Unplugged, which can include anything like charades, improv, games, or music. Every Wednesday night, four UF students from our Streetlight team invite adolescents from the fifth floor at Shands AGH to participate (if they are able). In the past, we had two Gator football players, a Dazzler, and a cheerleader join us for a wild game of charades. Sometimes local musicians join us, and sometimes we play fierce games of Pictionary. It is a night for diversion, laughter, and sometimes for discussion and support. Unplugged is about anything that lifts, inspires, and transforms the spirit. That is our goal! Teenagers get the chance to meet other teenagers so that they do not feel so alone with their health problems.

During Phase Two, we will extend the same program to the sixth & seventh floors at Shands AGH. We have a wonderful team of 15+ UF students committed to helping our teenagers feel supported, connected, and befriended during their hospitalization.

As we grow, the program can grow! As we get financial and community support, we can offer more!

Information

For more information on how you or your business can become part of the Streetlight support system, please contact Rebecca Brown at 352.338.7197 ext 3660 or rebadb@peds.ufl.edu.