Pubdate: Mon, 31 Oct 2005 Source: Helena Independent Record (MT) Copyright: 2005 Helena Independent Record Contact: http://helenair.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1187 Author: Carolynn Bright, IR Staff Writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States) KIDS' MEDIA CAMPAIGN DELIVERS ANTI-DRUG MESSAGE Mission of the Youth Connections Coalition is to promote positive skills for youths A recent survey of Helena youth indicates that 50 percent of them believe adults in Helena do not disapprove of underage drinking and drug use. This week, a media campaign designed by seventh graders will premier on local television, radio, newspapers and billboards, asking parents to be the adults and set the rules for their children. "How can I break the rules if I don't know what they are?" "Set boundaries. It's a parent's job." "If now's not the time, when is? Talk to your kids." Those are some of the questions and messages the media campaign will include, according to Casey Molloy, one of the program coordinators. She represents the Helena School District and the Youth Connections Coalition. The Youth Connections Coalition is a group of more than 50 volunteer representatives from numerous areas within the community whose mission is to foster a safe and caring environment that promotes positive skills and healthy development for all youth. Earlier this year, communication arts teachers in the Helena School District asked their seventh grade students to turn a critical eye to media messages. Helena Middle School teacher Claudia Crase said the four-week-long investigation of mass media marketing techniques fell squarely in their students' area of interest. "It was right where they live," she explained. And while the students were interested to learn to recognize that they were being manipulated by advertising, they were even more excited to find out that they would have an opportunity to develop an advertising campaign of their own to deliver their anti-drug message. Ellen McEwen, an eighth grade student at HMS, helped plan a television commercial as part of the project. She said her group considered what types of images would make people think about their message, and determined that a sad, serious tone would be most effective. "It was cool that if you made an ad, people would see it," McEwen said, explaining her enthusiasm for the project. The federally funded advertising campaign is but one element of the Youth Connections Coalition's strategy to instill the 40 assets of healthy development identified by a recent study conducted by the Search Institute, into the lives of Helena youths. Molloy said the target of the 40 assets -- which include youth programs, homework and adult role models -- is to "build up" area children by forming relationships, so they will learn to avoid high risk behaviors like underage drinking and illegal drug use. "This is how we're going to make a difference," she said. In addition to supporting the media literacy project, the Youth Connections Coalition recently co-sponsored a town meeting to discuss the growing methamphetamine problem in our community. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin