Task force discusses ways to reduce teen pregnancy

A task force met in Havre Tuesday to continue discussing ideas of preventing teen pregnancy in Hill County.

According to the website http://www.countyhealthrankings.org, as of 2014 – for every 1,000 teenage girls ages 15 to 19, Hill County has 66 teen births out of a thousand teen girls, nearly twice the state average.

One idea that the task force discussed is displaying a “Children with Children” exhibit in Havre.

Jessica Kennedy, public health nurse with Hill County Family Planning, said the exhibit has interactive pictures that allow people to view a photograph, put on headphones and hear the story behind the photo.

“(For example, part of the exhibit) would be a picture of a young mom holding her baby — and you put the headphones on and you would sit down and hear her story,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy added that funding this project is difficult.

“We don’t bring any money in, we don’t have a grant. It’s really hard to have the means to bring that here — we’d have to find a sponsor,” she said.

This exhibit itself is a free service; however, it costs around $5,000 to ship it from Texas. The group said it can get sponsors, apply for grants or get a downsized version of the exhibit.

The time and location for the exhibition is not set in stone.

The task force is also planning on running parenting workshops, which would be a way to educate parents on how to build a bridge of communication with their children about sensitive topics, such as having “the talk” about sexwith their children.

Task force member Janet Trethewey said she believes these workshops would benefit the community.

“If you talk to kids about (how) abstinence is the best, but these are your options — then at least if they do decide to have sex, they’re prepared for it. But (with) most of them — the more open you are and the more you talk to them about it, the longer they delay. It’s the ones who don’t know anything that can be talked into it,” Trethewey said.

Lynne Nash, a nurse practitioner at Bullhook Community Health Center, believes these workshops would help educate individuals on the prevention of teenage pregnancies.

“Our message needs to be that we believe that abstinence is the only sure way (to prevent pregnancy), and then there’s all these other options for you,” she said.

Kennedy also said that the task force is interested in educating students within the Havre school system.

“We have expressed interest in helping,” she said. “We have evidence-based curriculums that we can use to help them.”

The group is looking for a location for the “Children with Children” exhibit to be displayed and is seeking anyone who would be willing to partner with the task force.

For more information, poeple can call 406-265-5481 Ext. 266.