A national group searching for successful programs to prevent teen pregnancy is taking a closer look at Aunt Martha’s in Park Forest.
Aunt Martha’s, a private non-profit youth service agency created in 1972, is one of eight programs across the country and the only one in the state to be targeted for long-term study by the National Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Parenting and Prevention.
Aunt Martha’s is also getting $30,000 in grants from Johnson & Johnson. The money will be used to support its programs, said Andrea Durbin-Odom, a spokesperson for Aunt Martha’s.
The national group, with funding help from the Johnson & Johnson, selected the eight agencies for further study in the hope of identifying a model program for the nation by 2000.
“They want to isolate the characteristics of successful programs,” Durbin-Odom said.
She said Aunt Martha’s stands out because the agency offers more than just advice. There’s also a health-care clinic, where the young patients get a lot of individual attention.
The agency’s “comprehensive approach” impressed the national group, Durbin-Odom said. Not many youth agencies also run health clinics and few health clinics are attached to youth agencies, she said.
For many young women in their teens, a visit to Aunt Martha’s is “the first attempt at trying to access health care on their own,” according to Glenda Evans, clinic coordinator.
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“We spend an awful lot of time on our initial interview,” Evans said. “We try to look at the (whole) person, try to address the issues. . . . What we’re saying is you’re important enough to us that we’ll close the door and you can tell us anything.”
“We do a lot of nurturing,” said Dr. Constance Shabazz. “What we try to do is . . . get to the root of why they’re really here, to make them feel comfortable.”
“Our focus has been for the most part on prevention,” Evans said, but the clinic also offers prenatal care.
Beyond preventing pregnancy, Shabazz said, “There’s a heightened concern about protecting themselves (from disease).”
One key to Aunt Martha’s success may be that young people appreciate being listened to. “At least somebody’s hearing them,” Evans said.