Ruben Valdovinos was a Hughson High School student and Athela Gomez was in junior high when the pair met on the streets of Hughson.

It was young love, and before long, Gomez was pregnant at age 14. After their son, Marcos, was born, they lived together for a year, while other teens went cruising and to footfall games.

Valdovinos, now 21, said he lost his teen-age years to fatherhood. “You are 16 and you are an adult already,” he said. “I felt I had to grow up and be a good role model for my son.”

For Gomez, high school was not what she had imagined. She attended a continuation program to get her diploma.

“I actually didn’t want to go,” she said. “You have to find a baby-sitter and wonder when you will have time for homework. But I did it because I didn’t want to be like one of those mothers who don’t accomplish anything.”

Today, the young parents live apart but share the responsibility of caring for their son, who will be 4 in September.

One afternoon a week, they counsel other teens at the Hughson Medical Office in the hope that their peers will think hard about their choices.

Valdovinos and Gomez are paid counselors for an expanding program called SHADE, or Safe Health Awareness Done Easy, run by the Stanislaus County Health Services Agency.

The counselors talk one on one with peers about abstinence, birth control and sexually transmitted diseases, on the premise that teenagers feel comfortable talking with other teens about sex.

SHADE started a year ago with six counselors at the Paradise Medical Office in west Modesto and served almost 600 young clients in its first year.

“All of the counselors are incredibly passionate about this,” said Samantha Phillips-Bland, the county’s family-planning director.

“They don’t feel there is enough correct information out there for young people to make decisions that will affect them the rest of their lives.”

Stanislaus was one of five counties in the state to receive grant funding to launch the program, and one of three to get additional funding this year to expand.

Besides the twice-a-week service at Paradise Medical Office, the counseling is now offered once a week in Hughson and at the McHenry Medical Office. The McHenry office serves north Modesto as well as Riverbank.

Gomez said she understands young people who feel that they have no one to confide in when they become sexually active.

When she started dating Valdovinos, she said, she lived with her father and said she kept everything secret.

Valdovinos said that at the time, he never considered the consequences of exploring his curiosity for sex. But he now encourages peers to think about it.

“We are here to be the second voice in their heads” he said. “To say, look, there is another way if you want it.”

Since starting as a counselor in June, Gomez said she mainly has seen teen girls who are seeking birth control or tests for sexually transmitted diseases. The services are free at the county clinics.

Under a county policy, the counselors are to first discuss abstinence with clients, and if they are not receptive, the counselors may suggest what birth control would be appropriate.

Adult counselors are called in if more serious issues arise, such as cases of abuse.

Youth counselors must know the effectiveness and side effects of various contraceptives, such as birth-control pills and Depo-Provera, an injectable drug.

That is why prospective counselors go through four months of training and tough exams before being certified, and are taught how to “read” clients by asking the right questions.

“If a person is not good at taking medication when they are sick, then you probably wouldn’t recommend that they take birth-control pills,” Gomez said. She noted that the pills need to be taken regularly.

Valdovinos said he tested his people skills when a client grew impatient in the waiting room and left. He and other counselors caught up with him outside and were able to coax him back into the office.

“You have to get their trust,” he said, adding that once trust is established, “it helps them to speak what is on their mind.”

Counselors have promoted the expanded SHADE program by passing out fliers in neighborhoods and parks, and by making a presence at concerts.

But most people hear about it through word of mouth, Phillips-Bland said.

“I think when young people get the kind of service they need, they tell other people where thy can go for help,” she said.

The programs first counselors have graduated from high school and are moving on to college and other pursuits.

Gomez said she hopes to attend college so she can work as a medical assistant or nurse; Valdovinos said he still is weighing his career plans.

Valley Birth Rates

The number of babies born to teen mothers is higher in the San Joaquin Valley than in any other region in California. Here are the statistics from 2001, the last year for which data is available. The figures represent the number of births per 1,000 teenage girls.

• Statewide: 47
• San Joaquin County: 61
• Stanislaus County: 55
• Merced County: 66
• At a Glance

Teen-to-teen counseling through SHADE, or Safe Health Awareness done Easy, is available at three Stanislaus County clinics. The free service offers information on abstinence, birth control and sexually transmitted diseases.

Hughson Medical Office
3 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays
2412 Third Street

McHenry Medical Office
3 to 7 p.m. Thursdays
2501 McHenry Avenue between Bowen and Floyd Avenues, Modesto

Paradise Medical Office
3 to 7 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays
401 Paradise Road, Modesto

Bee staff writer Ken Carlson can be reached at 578-2321 or kcarlson@modbee.com.

Reprinted by permission of the Modesto Bee.