Remembering What is Important

We have just passed a date that we wish that we never had to remember. September 11 really should be a date in which we are looking forward to a birthday, a football weekend, the first hint of fall. Instead, for everyone who has memories of 2001 we know where we were. Like the attack on Pearl Harbor, the assassination of John Kennedy, we remember where we were when we learned of the tragic attacks on the World Trade Towers, the Pentagon, the crash in Pennsylvania

All across our country this month there have been remembrances of all those who died, but even more, all those who have died in the ensuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. On Sept. 11, our sanctuary walls were filled with the names of so many who have been lost—nearly 10,000 names.
It is important and necessary that we remember that date. But if we only remember, we have lost an important opportunity to ask ourselves, and our country what is really important. How much are we willing to change our lives, our habits in order to feel safe? How many of our liberties and freedoms are we willing to forfeit in order to thwart another attack? What is important about being America?
We need those times when we have those soul-searching conversations with ourselves, with our country. What is really important? 

In recent weeks we have been hit with so many numbers. We have learned that over 15% of all Americans are living in poverty, 1 in 6 children. That means that a family of four has an income of less than $22,350. In South Carolina, according to the 2011 Kids Count Data Book, over 260,000 children, one of every four, are poor. We now rank 45th in the nation for child well being.

The connection between poverty, teen pregnancy, low educational attainment, prison population is well known. We see those numbers all the time. I wonder what it would be like if we saw all their names listed on a church wall—all those lives effected by poverty, pregnancy, dropout, incarceration. Is there a wall big enough?
In the face of such mind numbing numbers are we willing to step back and ask ourselves, our state, what is really important? What are we willing to do to make sure another generation doesn’t fall victim. Following 9/11, we were willing to take off our shoes when we fly, to give up our big toothpaste, to fund two wars, to give away rights in order to be safe.

What are we willing to do to safeguard our children?

Are we willing to walk across the room and cut off TV programs that are inappropriate? Are we willing to fund proven effective programs that help our children make good decisions about sexuality? Are we willing to have conversations that might be uncomfortable, but so very necessary?
What is really important?

It is a question we need to ask—not only this year, but every year. Our children depend on it.

- Don Flowers, Former Board Chair and Pastor of Providence Baptist Church. Contact Don at don@providencecharleston.org.

Football and Comprehensive Sex Ed: It isn't Just About the Players on the Field

Just like most South Carolinians, I’m enjoying the late summer/ early fall: the day doesn’t greet me with an oppressive blanket of heat and humidity, roadside stands are cornucopias of fresh local fruits and vegetables, and “football” is the word on everyone’s lips. My daily commute takes me past two high schools, and before school started back up I would drive past morning practice.

Five mornings a week, I was reminded of our closing keynote speaker at Summer Institute, Dr. Steve Perry. Part of his speech compared comprehensive health education in schools to youth football. He challenged everyone in the room with this question: If we can get a young man to be convinced that, in August’s baking heat, strapping on over a dozen pounds of additional weight and running around outside to the point of exhaustion is good for him, why can’t we do the same thing with reproductive health? What are we doing as a state, as an organization, as educators and as individuals to make sexually responsible behaviors as attractive as playing football?

This has been my rallying cry since Summer Institute. If someone can convince middle schoolers and high schoolers that waking up early in the summer, putting on umpteen layers of additional clothing, running around, throwing a ball, tackling teammates and getting the wind knocked out of them is a good thing and worth repeating if only for the chance to get to play on a few Friday nights in the fall, then I can convince the same middle schoolers and high schoolers that delaying sex until they are ready and using protection when they make a fully informed choice to have sex is an equally good idea. I can do this! I can change the world!

Reality, of course, is much more nuanced. The number of students who play football is much smaller than the number of students affected by comprehensive health education. However, just because a student doesn’t play football doesn’t mean that he or she can’t support their team and in some way encourage the culture that puts football on a pedestal. As Oprah would say, this was my “a-ha” moment.

Football culture (and comprehensive health education) isn’t just about the players on the field. It’s the coaches who are motivating the players to do one more lap. It’s the parents who wake their sons up at 6 a.m. on those August mornings. It’s the schools who invest in football uniforms, stadiums, and coaching staff. It’s the fans in the stands. It’s the local businesses who want to put their logos on programs. It’s the local media who will put a reporter on the sidelines. It’s the slim chance that playing football well in high school may lead to playing football in college and the even slimmer chance that playing football in college may lead to playing football professionally.

So it is with comprehensive, evidence based health education. While the immediate focus may be on two dozen middle or high schoolers in a classroom, we need to focus on the culture that determines what happens in that classroom. It’s the teachers who want to deliver accurate information. It’s the school administrators who budget for trainings and supplies for those teachers. It’s the Comprehensive Health Education Committees comprised of members voting to institute evidence based curriculums. It’s parents who are grateful when their child brings home homework with the questions “When did you fall in love? What was it like when you were dating in high school?”. It’s a culture that doesn’t glorify or normalize teen pregnancy. It’s the very large chance that not getting pregnant in high school or college will lead to a better future.

- Stewart Davis, MPH, is a Training and Technical Assistance Associate at the SC Campaign. Contact Stewart at sdavis@teenpregnancysc.org.

Pharmacy Clinics Could be Useful Tool for Young People

I'm sitting in a CVS waiting for the nurse at the Minute Clinic to call me back. As I sauntered towards the back of the store where the clinic office is, I realized that no one could tell what I came into the store for. I could be here for toothpaste, lipstick, gum, or some Carolina swag for my car to celebrate the kick-off to college football (which I may have to pick up before I leave). But I'm here for a medical reason.

To sign in at the Minute Clinic, I don't have to talk to anyone. I answer a few questions on a computer screen, agree to complete a survey via e-mail following my visit (our Evaluation Department is rubbing off on me!), and the screen tells me how long I may have to wait before the nurse calls for me. Fortunately, it’s less than 20 minutes. But I’m free to browse the store while I wait anyway. Or work on this blog entry on the trusty Blackberry.

I've been to this clinic before - the joy of annually acquiring bronchitis or tonsilitis or some other cold and flu type illness. I come here because I can get in and out quickly, don't have to wait for ages in a packed waiting room where I am convinced I will contract five other illnesses before the nurse calls me, I meet with a very personable APRN who has the time to really sit and talk to me, and I can pick up any prescription or meds I need before I leave the store. It’s a definite one-stop shop. My entire visit today took less than an hour – including wait time, time with the nurse, and waiting for the prescription. The visit was also relatively inexpensive and can be filed with insurance.

Naturally, I asked the nurse about incorporating family planning services into the Minute Clinic. Young people can enter CVS without anyone knowing they’re going in to get on birth control. Services are confidential. Wait time is minimal. Interaction with only the nurse makes it easier to guarantee teen-friendliness from staff.

What an ideal place for a female to go get her Depo-Provera shot or switch methods if she’s having trouble! I was thrilled to hear that CVS and the Minute Clinics are considering expanding services to do just that. Now we just need to show them our support so they’ll decide to do more than consider it, and we’ll have a whole new way for young people to access these much-needed services.

In the meantime, I encourage you to visit a CVS with a Minute Clinic to pick up some toothpaste, gum, or USC swag. And just imagine a whole new world opening up there for our youth!

- Dana Becker, M.Ed., is the Spartanburg Community Specialist for the SC Campaign. Contact Dana at  dbecker@teenpregnancysc.org.

Beyonce Pregnancy Commentary Missed the Mark

A response Tony Anderson’s (BET.com) commentary on Beyonce’s pregnancy, 'Will Beyoncé’s Pregnancy Cause a Spike in Black Teen Pregnancy?"

As provocative and engaging as I know the author of this commentary is trying to be, I still wish the title reflected the possibility, even if slight, that this could be the foundation for a POSITIVE response among black youth.  Even if young black girls want to emulate Beyonce and fail to see the details of her very strong ability to parent, we as mentors, parents, teachers, and guardians CAN use this as a TEACHABLE MOMENT instead of worrying that young black girls are going to automatically start pushing out babies because of Beyonce! 

We know that there are high pregnancy rates in the U.S. and among girls of color, so why start hyperventilating over what else COULD happen?   Let's try to be proactive and point out the encouraging details of Beyonce’s life circumstances to our youth BEFORE they start making bad decisions. 

The author, who is a black male, may have intended only to spark discussion and reflection, but instead I think the author mistakenly allows his need for hype to overshadow just how fragile the dynamics of race, class, gender, and social status can be.  Even though the article content is somewhat valid and nuanced, the headline’s tired and weak correlation between Beyonce and pregnancy rates among an entire race of young women is completely ridiculous and insensitive (plus, the last time I checked, many young women of all backgrounds look up to Beyonce!).

We all too often complain about the negative images coming out of music and movies, yet when a young entertainer avoids the pitfalls of early stardom, what do we do?  Yes, we allow her name to be associated (even if not purposefully) with one of the biggest societal challenges in the country! 

We are going to have to be more careful, especially as professionals, not to allow commentators like this to trivialize such an important issue.  We know so many young women of all races who struggle everyday to handle the consequences of unplanned pregnancy.  We see parents of teens literally overwhelmed by the pressures of parenting in a world where information moves at lightning speed. 

We work with social workers, prevention specialists, and counselors who KNOW what environmental factors surround unplanned pregnancy.  This list of factors like poverty, access to health care, parental involvement, low self-esteem, abuse, among other determinants, are the issues that these professionals grapple with daily, NOT Beyonce’s pregnancy announcement. 

Of course, I would never discount the validity of any entertainer’s influence on impressionable young people.  Media influence and peer pressure are very real issues for young people.  BUT anytime someone insinuates that one particular group of girls would automatically have sex just because a grown up entertainer decided to have a baby with her husband, we need to ask if the same “brainstorm” would be put out there about other girls or even about young men.

-Kimberly Wicker, MSW, is the Outreach and Development Specialist for the SC Campaign. Contact Kim at kwicker@teenpregnancysc.org.

Did ya Feel That?

This week the East Coast experienced a rare occurrence…yes, the infamous EARTHQUAKE!  Local and national broadcasters up and down the coast as well as parts of the Mid-West were on it, reporting every detail and displaying absolute amazement at how far-reaching the effects of this natural event were.  The public reaction to the earthquake’s even slight impact across such a wide area made me think about our work in prevention, especially teen pregnancy prevention. 

Not that I would ever equate the danger of a possible natural disaster to a teen pregnancy.  However, the public’s shock regarding impact IS something that seems curiously similar!  On several occasions, as I do outreach across the state, I have heard adults of all backgrounds and titles suggest that teen pregnancy is only relevant for some of us… those who work with high schools or are parents of teens, etc.  I often hear phrases like:

·         Whew!  I am glad I have passed that stage (a parent of a young adult); I’m not there yet (a parent of a young child) or I don’t have to worry about that because I have boys!

Yes in 2011, with all of the proven social implications of unintended pregnancy, HIV, and STDs, we still have some  neighbors and friends who think they are exempt from the ripple effects of teen pregnancy and disease (much like we in South Carolina and other parts of the US think we are exempt from earthquakes!).  Of course there are many parents, teachers, and health care professionals who ARE well aware of the connections between teen pregnancy and our economic, social, and public health plight in this country. 

We just need to continue to highlight those connections and to speak up when we hear anyone suggest that we don't have to be overly concerned about the health and well-being of young people…ALL YOUNG PEOPLE!  Click here to look at our Making the Connection series. 

-Kimberly Wicker, MSW, is the Outreach and Development Specialist for the SC Campaign. Contact Kim at kwicker@teenpregnancysc.org.

Some "Earth-Shaking" News -- Introducing @SCCampaign on Twitter!

Today, we are expanding our communication tool box and launching @SCCampaign on Twitter, so that we can continue to make online connections with others in the field, and also to share our news about teen pregnancy prevention work, research and events.

As a self-proclaimed social media junkie, one of the reasons I'm excited about this is that I love to know about things in real time. Just yesterday, Twitter helped me figure out why my cubicle was wobbling. After working in the little graduate assistant closet - ahem, office - with three other people for the last year, I’m used to a variety of ways we can annoy one another in such close quarters.

I peeked around the partition to see what my officemate was doing to cause the mini-disturbance, only to realize it wasn't her moving our desks. She had been wondering the same thing about me!  Perplexed, I tweeted that I thought our office building was shaking. Seconds later, I saw messages from friends up and down the East Coast who had experienced the same thing.

As my less social media-addicted coworkers started coming out into the hall to figure out what was happening, I already knew the shaking we felt was probably related to the earthquake reported by my friends who lived states away. And, OK, I’ll admit that updating your status online during a probable natural disaster isn’t the safest way to take action, but in this scenario it helped the news spread literally in an instant.

As I saw yesterday, staying connected not only gives you bragging rights about being the first to know what’s happening, but it also makes it easier to see at a glance what is going on collectively. So, follow @SCCampaign on Twitter (and Facebook!) to stay up-to-date!

- Elizabeth Benfield is a graduate assistant from the USC Arnold School of Public Health. She also tweets for CarolinaTeenHealth.com at @TeenHealthSC. E-mail her at ebenfield@teenpregnancysc.org.

Enough of the "We Can't do this in South Carolina" Talk

I’ll be honest, it’s one of my pet peeves – this talk about what we can and can’t do simply because of the limits of geography.  I moved to South Carolina fifteen years ago which comes close to making me a “local”, but I fully understand that even another fifteen years won’t make me a “native.”  Nonetheless, I have dedicated a considerable amount of that time doing things that (in my opinion) are making the state better.  I care about South Carolina, care about its citizens and have an especially large place in my heart for its young people and others who are presumably without a voice in decision making.

One of my many professional goals is to ensure that all young people in South Carolina are receiving research proven, age-appropriate sexuality education in school.  It’s a seemingly never-ending battle met with many iterations of “we can’t do that here!”  To be fair, some communities and school districts are well on their way to this level of instruction and are doing the best they can with what they have; however, saying there is widespread implementation of effective sexuality education in South Carolina would be a stretch.

Given this interest, I pay attention when I see that other states or locales have instituted sexuality education policies like this story that broke out of New York City this week.  Let the chorus rain… “yeah but, that’s New York City”… and, of course the “but we can’t do that here.”  Well, here’s the dirty little secret hidden in the article: “a survey… in 2009 found that 81 percent of city voters thought that sex education should be taught in public schools.”  And, the article implies that was enough to overcome opposition from a variety of groups.

Guess what?  In South Carolina a survey conducted in 1997, replicated in 2004 and replicated again in 2007 indicated that 81% of South Carolina registered voters support sex education being taught in South Carolina public schools that emphasizes abstinence but also includes information on contraception.”  Want more? Community level surveys conducted in Spartanburg County (87% support) and Horry County (87%) in 2011 indicate that support may actually be increasing!

The question is no longer “can we do that here” rather, we must begin to ask ourselves “do we have the will, drive and commitment to GET IT DONE here!”  We are on our way, so one final question - who’s with us?

By: Forrest Alton, CEO, SC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy