SoundYouth
Harrisonburg, VA, 1998
WMRA set out to examine the issue of substance abuse among our youth. We decided that quoting statistics was not the approach to take. In partnership with VaLiance Health Partners (Augusta Health Care, Rockingham Memorial Hospital, University of Virginia Health System, Stonewall Jackson Hospital) and the Search Institute of Minneapolis, we adopted two broad goals:
- to curtail youth substance abuse, and
- to educate communities about asset building.
With the help of our partners, WMRA interviewed four groups of young people from grades 6, 7, and 8. Each group consisted of four or five teens selected with the help of local Boys and Girls clubs and other youth organizations. Each child was selected based on personal history and a willingness to discuss aspects of their lives. Group interviews were conducted by college students from James Madison University's mediation program. Using college students, rather than adults, to conduct the interviews allowed the youth to feel more comfortable and created stronger rapport. This process produced ten hours of tape.
Next, WMRA interviewed parents and professionals, asking questions derived from comments made by the middle-school youth. All of this information was then edited and assembled into ten distinct feature reports, each approximately eight minutes long. These reports were broadcast during Morning Edition and All Things Considered. The series was later repackaged into an hour-long special and rebroadcast.
Press releases were sent to major media outlets, resulting in coverage in many local papers and by one local television station. Two publications printed feature articles on the series.
To focus our promotion, we decided to target the parents of middle-school students. A flyer was sent to all the public middle schools in our listening area; 12,000 flyers were distributed. Each flyer explained the concept and benefits of the series and told people when to listen. We also printed the list of assets, developed by the Search Institute, on the back of each flyer.
The series was reproduced on cassette tapes and inserted into a SOUNDYouth kit. Each kit contained the series, a guide to asset-building techniques in the classroom, and a few asset-building posters. Kits were distributed to all the area middle schools. Each kit was designed to help education professionals incorporate the assets into lesson plans and techniques.
Contact Information
SoundYouth
Matt Bingay, Program Director
Tel: 540-568-6221
VaLiance Health Partners and the Search Institute of Minneapolis
Elizabeth Bradley, Coordinator, Augusta Health Care, Inc. Community Wellness
Tel: 540-932-4190