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Contact Us
PHA Office: (541) 737-3927 or PHA Coordinator: (541) 737-7555Email at:
Mission Statement
"We promote health and wellness within the OSU community."
What is Peer Health Advocates?
Peer Health Advocates (PHA) is a peer-to-peer volunteer organization committed to enhancing the health of the OSU community through social advocacy, outreach & events, and service learning.
PHAs engage in advocacy for social justice and volunteerism within the community (service learning). Additionally, volunteers conduct campus activities designed to raise awareness about college health issues and promote healthy behavior choices among our peers. Past events and projects have included awareness of safer sex behaviors, HIV/AIDS, health impact of global warming, drugs/alcohol, hunger awareness and other health related issues.
Students involved with PHA are rewarded with improved leadership, interpersonal, advocacy and communication skills; along with meaningful opportunities to make a difference within the OSU community.
Peer Health Advocates is open and available to all OSU students, and is dedicated to promoting an open exchange of information, ideas, opinions and inclusiveness of all students, including: race/ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, and religion.
What is in it for you?
If you become a peer health educator or volunteer you will be rewarded with...
- Making a difference in the health of OSU students
- Improved leadership, interpersonal, and communication skills
- Resume enhancement
- Recognition for volunteerism and advocacy
- Increased knowledge about health and social justice
- Find a variety of meaningful volunteer opportunities in student health activities, projects, and programs
- Gain hands-on knowledge and experience
- Develop great new relationships while working to educate and empower your fellow students
How to Get Involved?
- Contact us at (541) 737-3927 or email us at
- Attend weekly Peer Health Advocate meetings on Wednesdays from 5-6:30 p.m. in room 322B of the Student Health Services (Plageman Building)
- Submit an application online, or in person
- Enroll in a 3-credit training course H349: Peer Helping Skills held each term
- Additional H409 credit is issued per term for interested volunteers who have completed H349
What Do Peer Health Advocates Do?
Peer Health Advocate volunteers participate on event planning teams, attend weekly PHA meetings, participate in volunteer projects and programs, and engage in skill/team building activities. The areas we focus on are:
- Outreach and Events: Providing campus and community with information on a variety of health related issues through awareness events, nationally recognized health events and other health related issues.
- Past projects and health issues include: Vagina Monologues, Body Positive Week, Safer Sex & Healthy Relationships, Safe Tattooing and Piercing, and World AIDS Day.
- Service Learning: Combines service and reflective thinking to enhance student learning and civic responsibility.
- Projects and health issues include: Volunteering with soup kitchen, Habitat for Humanity, beach clean-up, food drive, Avery Park clean-up, and Youth Garden Project.
- Social Advocacy: Expose OSU to the many diverse issues that face society and affect health both locally and globally.
- Projects and health issues include: Hunger Awareness, Great American Smokeout, How to be an Ally (for Pride Week), Hearing Loss Prevention.