Orange County NC Website
4 <br />By June 1991, PPOD will have conducted at least 75 workshops <br />in 3 -5 housing projects and community centers for groups of <br />5 -20 adolescents. Boys and girls ages 9--17 will participate <br />in these programs, which are known as "Teen Talk." <br />During the first eleven months of the Minority Involvement <br />Project, we have identified and begun programs at three <br />housing projects (Ridgefield and Airport Gardens in Chapel <br />Hill, and Oakwood in Carrboro); met individually with 97 <br />parents; presented 43 programs to 489 boys and girls; and <br />sponsored 2 health fairs attended by over 100 subsidized <br />housing communities residents. To date, we have reached 680 <br />adults and youth. <br />"Teen Talk" programs have dealt with a variety of issues. At <br />three sessions, the boys and girls watched movies and videos, <br />and listened to popular songs, with an eye (and ear) towards <br />identifying gender stereotyping and sexual irresponsibility. <br />The boys and girls at Ridgefield got a boost to their group <br />comraderie and individual self- esteem by organizing a <br />successful health fair in their community. <br />As "Teen Talk" has progressed, we have identified objectives <br />and techniques that needed refining. For instance, we have <br />learned that 19 -20 week series, and not the seven -week series <br />originally planned, are necessary to establish trust and <br />rapport with the participants and to adequately cover the <br />topics being discussed. <br />Additionally, we have had to be very creative in designing <br />our programs. It has become apparent that an interactive, <br />hands -on approach works best with these hard -to -reach boys <br />and girls. Strict adherence to a regimented, school - oriented <br />curriculum would be inappropriate and unfruitful. Lastly, we <br />have learned not to try to enforce strict age divisions in <br />our programs. For example, including 11- or 12 -year olds in <br />a program for 13- and 14 -year olds encourages peer education <br />within the group. <br />Because one of "Teen Talk's" goals is helping adolescents set <br />goals and stay in school, project coordinator Lechelle Wilson <br />organized a tutorial program at Ridgefield and Airport <br />Gardens. The tutors are all UNC students, and mostly members <br />of the service fraternities Omega Psi Phi and Alpha Phi Alpha <br />and the service sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha. The tutors serve <br />as role models for the project participants, as well as <br />helping them with their homework and reading skills. <br />We have learned not to underestimate the concern of the <br />parents for their children and their willingness to help with <br />the project. This concern is most evident in the success of <br />"Positive Force Parents," a second component of the Minority <br />Involvement Project. <br />