Plain Talk In the News

Health Workers Aim to Lower Teenage Pregnancies in South Valley

Albuquerque Journal
Tuesday, September 5, 2006

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez
Journal Staff Writer

For the last eight months, health workers have been going door to door in the South Valley as part of a program designed to lower teen pregnancy and prevent sexually transmitted diseases.

In the area between Coors and Isleta, and Arenal to Rio Bravo, community health workers for Hablando Claro, or Plain Talk, have been passing out surveys to figure out how well parents and teens are communicating about sex.

"Health is a basic human right and reproductive health is a basic human right," said program director Veronica Plaza. "We want everybody to have access to health care and we want to help create a healthy environment, those are our goals."

Hablando Claro is a national teen pregnancy prevention program that was started by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a Baltimore-based children and family advocacy organization.

The South Valley got its own branch last December. Plaza said teenage pregnancies account for 96 out of every 1,000 pregnancies in the South Valley. The average for New Mexico is 65 out of every 1,000.

The team is just about finished with the first phase of its three-year, $240,000 program in the South Valley.

During this "community mapping" phase, the workers went door to door to collect 500 surveys that dealt with parents' perceptions about their teens and sex. The survey asked questions like: "How many teens have had sex before they have graduated from high school?"

Enriqueta Benitez, a promotora, or community health worker, said although the survey results are not official yet, she has noticed one theme: "There is almost no communication between parents and their children about sexual education," she said.

The surveys will be sent to Plain Talk's main office in Philadelphia, where they will be analyzed, Plaza said. Once they are returned in about two months, the group can embark on the second and third phases. The total time for each phase, counting time to process the survey results, is about a year.

A diverse staff makes up the Hablando Claro team: Plaza is from Argentina; coordinator Kelly Garrido and promotora Luisa Cova are from Venezuela; promotora Paula Dickey is from Chile; and Benitez is from Mexico.

What binds them is a deep belief in the importance of the work they are doing.

Cova said a common problem is that parents are intimidated or scared to talk about sex with their kids.

"This is one of the best programs, because we can open them up a little more," she said.

The team is based at the South Valley Public Health Office on Centro Familiar.

As part of their surveying effort, the group has set up a booth at the South Valley Growers' Market each Saturday this season. They teamed up with the market and offered $10 worth of gift certificates to every survey participant.

"We have really appreciated their participation," said Rhonda Reinert, a market board member. "We are supportive of their efforts. They have helped to bring new people to our market and serve a critical function to young people in our community."

Hablando Claro has also been working with the Rio Grande Community Development Corp., Planned Parenthood, the New Mexico Teen Pregnancy Coalition and South Valley Male Involvement Project.

In the second phase, the team will coordinate gatherings at survey respondents' homes to discuss the results and begin an education program.

The program would be aimed at improving the parents of teenagers knowledge about teen habits and communication skills.

The third phase involves cementing the education the group has started by involving more local agencies and securing more funding for related work.

At the end of the third phase, the team will conduct another survey to see if their work has made a difference.

While the Hablando Claro team continues its work in the South Valley, Plaza would like to see more help for its cause.

"The amount of investment in youth should improve," Plaza said. "Reproductive health doesn't stop when you're a teen; it's a lifelong issue."

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