Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
276-638-8801
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| Group works to prevent births to unwed moms |
For The Children Partners In Prevention Co-Director Patricia Carter (standing at right) shares information about developing positive relationships with Tiffany Jones, 15, who is the daughter of Sharon Jones. In her lap, Tiffany is holding a doll that simulates noises made by babies. At left is Co-Director Mable Finney. |
Monday, September 17, 2007
By MICKEY POWELL - Bulletin Staff Writer
It is harder to persuade young adults than teenagers not to have children out of wedlock, according to Patricia Carter and Mabel Finney.
Young adults typically “don’t have a structured place where they can be reached” with information that can help them achieve better lives, Carter said. Yet teenagers can be reached in school.
It is hard to tell adults what to do with their bodies, especially if they already have been sexually active, Finney said.
And “women are so much more independent now,” said Valerie Pettie.
Many women want to prove “they can make it on their own,” and they do not see the need either for marriage or having a male partner taking part in their everyday lives, Pettie said.
Carter and Finney are co-directors, and Pettie is health services coordinator, of For The Children Partners in Prevention, an organization marking its 10th year of working to reduce the number of nonmarital births in Henry County and Martinsville.
For The Children believes marriage provides a more stable environment for children to grow up in, staff indicated.
Statistics from the West Piedmont Planning District Commission show that across Virginia in 2005, an average of 32.2 nonmarital births occurred per 1,000 females aged 15 to 44. In Martinsville, the average was 61.4 per 1,000, while the Henry County average was 50.5 per 1,000.
The women said they think For The Children’s work has been successful because even though the rate of teen pregnancy has increased slightly in Martinsville, it has declined sharply in Henry County.
Statistics from state health and education officials show that from 1995 to 2004, the latest statistics available, the pregnancy rate among females aged 10 to 19 in Martinsville jumped from 51.4 to 54.7 per 1,000. Meanwhile, the rate in Henry County — where For The Children has a presence in the public schools — declined from 37.4 to 26.5 per 1,000.
The county’s rate dropped every year while the city’s rate dropped in some years and rose in others. The city’s peak in 1999 was 72.9 pregnancies per 1,000 females 19 and younger, statistics indicate.
Economic troubles in Martinsville in the late 1990s, including job losses due to factory closings, may have contributed to that peak.
Teenagers feel the negative effects that economic problems have on their families, Pettie said. Like their parents, they can get depressed, which hurts their outlook on life and can lower their self-esteem.
As a result, teenage pregnancy increases when poverty increases, added Pettie.
For The Children staff teaches family life education in grades 4-10 in the Henry County Schools. Carter said that based on her understanding, similar information is provided by school nurses in the Martinsville schools.
“We do age-appropriate lessons,” Carter said of her organization.
For instance, younger students learn about personal hygiene and what to expect as they go through puberty, she said.
Older students learn how to “see their future in a positive way” and set goals for their lives, said Carter. They also learn about developing positive relationships with members of the opposite sex and preventing unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), she said.
However, the emphasis is on abstinence from sexual relations, and nothing controversial — such as abortion — is discussed, Carter said.
Such lessons are taught to both girls and boys, but each gender is taught separately.
“We build relationships” with students and teach them in a nonjudgmental way, Finney said.
An advisory committee including parents, teachers and clergy approves all learning materials that For The Children uses in the schools, Carter said.
She emphasized that the organization does not try to influence students’ moral and religious values.
“We’re not trying to take away from the parent’s role or the church’s role” in their lives, Carter said. Rather, her organization provides them with information they can use toward their emotional and physical well-being.
For The Children does not provide medical care for pregnant girls and women.
“We like to think of ourselves as the guardrail on top of the mountain, not the ambulance down in the valley,” Carter said.
The organization plans to continue educating youth. Yet it now is placing more emphasis on reaching out to women aged 20 to 29, the age group in the nation currently seeing a rising rate of child-bearing out of wedlock.
Because teenage pregnancy rates are dropping nationwide, it is easier now to get funds to educate women in their 20s, said For The Children staff.
For that age group, the organization focuses on family planning issues, the different types of birth control available and protection against STDs.
Institutions such as the county-city social services and health departments refer people to For The Children for help, Pettie said.
The organization also has a Community Technology Mobile Unit that travels across the area to share information about health issues, family planning and job readiness, among other things.
Carter said the goal with 20-somethings is to help them build self-esteem and make good decisions so they are less likely to delve into risky behavior.
For The Children receives funding from a variety of sources, including the United Way, Virginia Department of Health and the March of Dimes.
Still, “funding is always tight,” Carter said. “We’re always looking for funds,” and tax-deductible contributions from the public are accepted.
Carter said she expects the need for her organization to continue. There always will be teenagers and young adults at risk for making negative decisions that could affect their futures, she reasoned.
“We’ll do the best we can” to try and steer them in the right direction, Pettie said. |
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