AMY SZPARA

PHOTO: St. James Parish students who won the Teen Pregnancy Prevention essay contest received prizes at a recent parish council meeting. From left to right are 10th-grader Lydia Ester, 10th-grader Owen Melancon, Joylyn Ester, Cynthia Melancon, sixth-grader Sarah Petry, Adele Keller (behind), Teresa Petry, Catherine Becnel and sixth-grader Parralyn Becnel. CONVENT – When Vacherie resident Gianni Adams was 17, she became pregnant. Still in high school and terrified, she waited three months to tell her parents the news. There were mixed feelings. She was too young, but she wanted to keep the baby. Now at 19, her 2-year-old daughter, Dy’monn, and she are still struggling, though Gianni is getting used to caring for a child. There are lots of girls like Adams in the United States – teen mothers who find themselves battling to raise a child, trying to keep up their grades, striving to maintain relationships with friends and working hard to have the money to survive. That is why St. James Parish now has a Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, which is managed by Sheila Jackson and allows teen-agers to come together to talk about issues surrounding pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and other concerns they have about sexuality. After St. James received a federal grant for the program, Jackson began meeting with students after school at various locations to provide counseling, activities and guest speakers. Anyone between the ages of 11 and 19 may join the group. “We have had one or two kids that have already had children and wish we had started the program before now,” said Jackson. “It’s education for the kids.” They utilize baby dolls that cry and strap-on prosthetic stomachs to help teens see how hard it is to be pregnant. Nurses have come in to talk to the students about STDs and proper use of birth control, though the program promotes abstinence. They also feel it is important for students to know where to get birth control if they choose to engage in sexual activity. Other guest speakers have included teen mothers who talk to the students about the difficulties of being a teen parent, and upcoming speakers will include juvenile counselors to discuss date rape prevention. Adams, a member of the group, has also been a speaker to tell other kids about her situation. Having recently graduated from West St. John High School in Edgard, she can relate to the lives of high school students. But her life changed drastically at 17, when she gave birth to her daughter, and she thinks it is important to tell others about the struggles of being a teen mother. “I just tell them about how hard it was to focus. You can’t keep up with your friends. My grades dropped. I failed a grade. It’s real hard to focus. I graduated a year late,” said Adams. The father of Adams’ baby was not much help when she became pregnant, and he is now in and out of the baby’s life. Adams said the students asked her a lot of questions, such as how much money it costs to raise a child and who babysits for her. Luckily, her family has been a big help. Now Adams has friends with children, and she said it is hard to maintain friendships with people without babies. According to Jackson, the program really promotes abstinence, but she knows some students are sexually active. Parents sign them up for the program, and Jackson and her staff organize family nights out. They go for pizza, see movies and are even planning a camping trip. “We have individual counseling for students who don’t want to discuss their problems in front of others. They realize things after they hear somebody experienced, and I think that helps a lot,” said Jackson. Locations of the classes rotate. They started in Lutcher at the Head Start Center with about 80 participants. They then had a meeting in Vacherie, and they have future meetings scheduled at the Romeville Headstart, Convent and Welcome Head Start in August. The program is funded for a year for $75,000, and Jackson hopes to get funding for next year as well. During May, National Teen Pregnancy Month, teens were given blue ribbons and competed in an essay contest. Elementary school winners were Sarah Petry, sixth grade, Gramercy Elementary, first place; Perralyn Becnel, sixth grade, Gramercy Elementary, second place; and Jenna Boudreaux, sixth grade, Gramercy Elementary, third place. High school winners were Lydia Ester, 10th grade, Lutcher High School, first place; Owen Melancon, ninth grade, St. James High School, second place; and Deveka Washington, 10th grade, Lutcher High School, third place. “We’re trying to educate our kids about teen pregnancy. Abstinence is the only way to be completely safe. It’s the only 100 percent. We tell them that,” said Jackson. Adams added, “Safe sex is really important. If a girl was thinking of having a baby, I’d have to tell her Don’t. You’re going to have to work a lot. You will have to be really dedicated.’ “Most teenagers don’t want to be totally dedicated to anything. You can’t just pick up and go. “They need to wait.”