Josh Shipp, an award-winning speaker and author, will talk on “Decoding Your Teenager: The Power of One Caring Adult” on Wednesday, Sept. 28 as part of a new speaker series sponsored by HSHS Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s hospitals.
Shipp, whose website stresses his goal of helping adults understand teens and teen-agers understand themselves, will speak at 6:30 p.m.at the State Theatre, 326 Eau Claire St. Tickets are $5 and proceeds will be used to extend QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) anti-suicide training in the Chippewa Valley.
Shipp’s talk is part of the hospitals’ new “3D Community Health” program which aims to address health and wellness initiatives in the Chippewa Valley and make them easier to use. The program works for and with the community to make available – either free or at a low cost – an assortment of useful health tools including classes, support groups and information.
Shipp will focus on how to connect, communicate and strengthen the relationship between parents and teens, even when the teen is acting out. His talk is part of a new “Human Connection Series” developed by the two hospitals.
This event is open to parents, educators and mentors, according to an e-mail from the hospitals. Tickets are available by calling 715-832-2787 or at www.eauclairearts.com’
Shipp was an at-risk foster child who was written off and bounced in and out of numerous foster care homes until a handful of caring adults reached out to him and changed his world. An A&E documentary followed his ground-breaking work with teens.
Shipp is the author of the best-selling The Teen’s Guide to World Domination.
The hospitals are affiliates of Hospital Sisters Health System, one of the country’s largest Catholic health care systems, and have been serving the Chippewa Valley since the 1890s. The health system has 14 local systems and physician practices in Wisconsin and Illinois.