Alaina Dingwall

Organisation
IARS

Role
Trustee & Youth Advisory Group Rep

Biography

My name Is Alaina Dingwall, I’m a Brook ambassador and I’m 19 years old. I have just finished college at Westminster Kingsway College, doing ‘A’ levels in psychology, English and Communication and Culture Studies.

I plan to go to University this September to study English language and communication joint with psychology as I would like to become a relationship counsellor or a psychosexual therapist. I was born and raised in south London and I became interested in sexual health in my early teenage years, when many of my peers were becoming sexually active. I noticed the growing rate of STIs and teenage pregnancies, and have witnessed the problems of many young people who didn’t know where to turn to get help and advice. I have been involved with them for 3 years. Now I have the knowledge to promote sexual health to young people so that they can have healthy, safe and enjoyable relationships.

In September 2009, I started a 44 week volunteer programme with Brook as vtalent year campaign volunteer. I am a member on a programme development group for NICE to make sexual health services more accessible to socially disadvantaged young people, like myself, and have recently been accepted to be a member of the Teenage Pregnancy Advisory Independent Group. I’m also a member on the Brook board. I have also participated in various focus groups for local and national research and will soon be volunteering on the Ask Brook helpline.