Plain Talk - United States

Plain Talk's strategies emerged from observations of the realities of young people's lives in specific communities; the emphasis was on addressing these realities in a way that would be meaningful. Having been provided with resources and tools, the communities were given 1 year to develop a plan and 3 years to implement it. While each plan looked different, they all reflected a commitment to the following basic principles:

• Community residents should be central to the decision-making process because they have the biggest stake in changing community behaviour and norms.
• Residents should come to a consensus about what changes are necessary.
• Communities should have access to, or the means to obtain, reliable information about the problems and practices they are trying to address.
• Adults should not deny the reality that some youth are sexually active.

Plain Talk teams worked to create consensus among a broad base of community adults regarding the urgency of changing teen sexual behaviour and the steps to address it. Exploring the root causes of adolescent sexual risk-taking, the residents of each Plain Talk community developed strategies suitable to their own culture and circumstances by applying these basic components:

1. Community Mapping - a collaborative process that gave residents the tools to gather data about their own community's beliefs, norms, and practices. This process also became a first step in forging community awareness and motivation around the issue of adolescent sexual risk-taking. Research consultants provided training and logistical support to residents to enable them to collect essential information about their communities. Each community was then given draft survey instruments to use as starting points. Once residents finalised the survey instrument, trained residents conducted door-to-door surveys of between 300 and 700 adult neighbours. They also interviewed an equal number of neighborhood adolescents at youth-friendly locations, such as the local recreation centre. Data gathered from interviews was then processed and analysed by a core group of residents, lead agency staff, and local collaborating agencies. Participating residents further clarified findings by conducting follow-up interviews and focus groups.
2. Resident Network - Plain Talk sites developed a network of supportive resident opinion leaders and spokespeople. These local leaders presented community mapping findings and argued for necessary community action regarding teen sexual health. In each neighbourhood, the network continued to be a primary means for disseminating information, recruiting residents to participate and gathering feedback about Plain Talk neighbourhood activities.
3. Education and Skills Building - in each site, Plain Talk staff worked with interested residents to develop their skills as peer educators. In turn, residents created formal and informal educational opportunities for their neighbours, such as home health parties, support groups, and rites of passage ceremonies. They used communication techniques such as role plays and culturally appropriate fables as part of an effort to make messages relevant and to empower participants. Residents were the primary means of delivering messages to their neighbours (both adults and youth).
4. Sustaining Resident Involvement and Leadership - through a variety of informal and formal leadership opportunities, residents assumed increased levels of responsibility for planning and carrying out activities. Residents took the lead in organising peer education and community-wide events, and represented Plain Talk to service providers and policy makers in the larger urban community. Such resident leadership was a strategy for ensuring that communication regarding adolescent sexual health remained attuned to the concerns and efforts of residents. It also empowered residents to tackle related issues and play a more integral role in the general well-being of their communities.

Click here to read about the specific activities carried out in each of the 4 communities.

Sexual Health, HIV/AIDS, Youth.

In implementing Plain Talk, participants found that some strategies and approaches central to the project could be successfully replicated in more than one site. They also discovered, however, that each community's approach needed to be tailored to the unique personality and history of its residents. Organisers stress that what worked in these sites will not necessarily work in other communities, unless time, effort, and resources are put in place to support resident engagement, community mobilisation, and leadership development strategies. Click here to read more "lessons learned" from Plain Talk.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation continues to provide technical assistance resources and small grants to support special projects emerging from Plain Talk, such as local policy conferences and training conferences for new partners.