In this week’s newsletter I will be discussing recent pregnancy prevention grants that were awarded to Vance County and what effect they should have on teen pregnancy.
I will also be discussing the North Carolina Community Development Initiative and its effect on our district. Finally I will be discussing the North Carolina School of Math and Science and a student from our district that is doing exemplary work there. I also want to make you aware of a special humanitarian program that the school is organizing.
PREGNANCY PREVENTION GRANTS
Teen pregnancy is something that affects every county in our district. In 2008, North Carolina’s teen pregnancy rate for girls aged 15 to 19 was roughly 1 in 18. That means that out of every 100 girls in that age range, 6 became pregnant while still a teenager and this was just in 2008. Of our four counties, Franklin, Granville and Warren have rates that are right at the average for our state. But the situation in Vance County is much more severe.
In Vance County, the teen pregnancy rate is almost double that of the state average, at a little more than 1 in 10. Out of every 100 girls between 15 and 19 in Vance County, 11 of them became pregnant in 2008. This rate was the third highest in the state in 2008. Half of these young girls were repeat pregnancies, meaning this was not their first child. In 2007, Vance County had the highest rate in the state. For more information on these statistics and how they relate to Vance County, please click on the link below. (Note: the Daily Dispatch requires an account in order to view their articles. The account is free of charge, and easy to set up.)
These statistics are staggering. We must do something to fix this problem and last month Vance County received news that some help is on the way. The NC Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative, a division of the Health and Human Services Department, recommended Vance County for funding through the General Assembly. This funding will be used to establish a Teen PEP (Prevention Education Program) at Northern Vance High School in the fall of 2010. The program, which carries class credit, will train between 15 and 20 students who will then take that training and share it with their peers and others in the community. The program is based on a model used in New Jersey and you can read more about it here.
In the upcoming session I will work to ensure that this funding is appropriated for Vance County. This program has great potential to help the area with its teen pregnancy problem. Vance County will also continue in other efforts to reduce the teen pregnancy rate in the county. The health department plans on expanding their current programs and exploring additional partnerships that may create additional programs to combat this serious problem facing the youth of the county.
NORTH CAROLINA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE
Established in 1994, the NC Community Development Initiative is a private organization that provides operational grants to local Community Development Corporations (CDCs). The goal of these CDCs is to improve the local communities that they serve. The NC Community Development Initiative also provides support for nonprofit community economic development organizations. The Initiative does this through a combination of grant funding, loan financing and technical assistance.
The Initiative’s mission is to improve the well being and quality of life for people in low resource communities. It seeks to increase assets and create wealth in these areas. They have funneled more than $65 million in assistance, which has created more that $439 million in completed development projects. This funding is provided by investors from all sectors of the economy, including private businesses, foundations and government institutions. For a complete list of their private investors you can visit here.
In the 2009-2011 budget that the General Assembly passed in August, we allocated almost $10 million for the Initiative. This appropriation was an investment not only in the Initiative, but also in our poorer communities, who benefit the most from the work of the Initiative.
The Initiative has put $3.1 million specifically in our district. In Vance County, they worked directly with Gateway CDC in developing A.L. Harris, a three-phase residential neighborhood. The neighborhood, in addition to providing housing, is also striving to be eco-friendly by incorporating a 1.5 acre natural wetland into the development. The Initiative is also working with Gateway CDC and the Henderson/Vance Downtown Development Commission to develop the Recreation, Economic Development, Education and Family Project. The REEF Center, which is how it is more commonly known, will provide community services, educational facilities and commercial development in Downtown Henderson.
In Granville County, the Initiative is providing funding for the Central Children’s Home of NC. Part of this funding is to help them develop a business plan focused on program services for the Children’s Home. The rest is dedicated to a feasibility study for land assets owned by the Children’s Home.
The Initiative also invests in the work of the Haliwa-Saponi Tribe, providing core operating funding for the past four years and investing in a local auto parts store. If you would like to learn more about the Initiative, you can visit their website here.
Organizations like the Initiative help to strengthen our community. Their work will be essential in creating jobs and economic opportunity in our district. I applaud their hard work in helping areas like ours that are in desperate need of economic assistance.
NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND MATH
In 1980, North Carolina opened the School of Science and Math on the abandoned Watts Hospital campus in Durham. This school was the first of its kind. The school’s mission was, and is, “to meet North Carolina’s need for responsible leadership in the development and application of science, mathematics and technology and to act as a catalyst for educational improvement throughout North Carolina and the nation.” Since its inception, the school has inspired the creation of 18 other schools around the world that used NCSSM as their model. The school has grown into an important institution that fosters academic excellence and helps to forge the future leaders of our state and our nation. You can read more about NCSSM by visiting their website.
One such student, who happens to be from our district, is Lanair Lett of Henderson. Lanair is a Senior at the school, finishing up his second year in Durham. Lanair has, over the past few months, been the recipient of some prestigious accolades, including finishing first in the regional and fourth in the national Siemens Science Competition for his research centering on diabetes and the genes that affect it. He is also attending the Intel Science Talent Search in Washington, DC this weekend. He is one of 40 students from around the country invited to participate. You can read more about Lanair and his successes here and here. You can see Lanair below standing in front of his presentation for the Siemens Science Competition.
.jpg)
Lanair is a shining example of the potential that NCSSM has for shaping and encouraging our students. Lanair, who attended Southern Vance High School before enrolling in NCSSM, had never before conducted a research project. “I’ve really enjoyed the experience,” he said. “I never saw myself doing research as a high school student.” This kind of experience, and they level of teaching and guidance provided, are exactly what our students need in order to position themselves for success in the future.
If you, or anyone you know, are interested in the NCSSM, please visit here for information about admissions standards and how to get in contact with an admissions officer. The school is a wonderful resource for the children in our state, providing tuition free education for some of our state’s brightest minds. Lanair’s experiences are an example of the kind of doors that can be opened through attending NCSSM.
One final thing of note about NCSSM. On March 20, 2010, from 7:00 AM — 10:00 PM, the school will be attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the most non-perishable food collected at one venue in a 24-hour period by raising over 509, 147 pounds of food. All the food collected will be donated to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. This is a wonderful event benefiting a wonderful cause. I hope that anyone who is able will help out.
If you’d like to know more about the event you can either visit their website, or email the event coordinator Sue Anne Lewis at NCSSMFFoodDrive@gmail.com or Joshua Chappell at ChappellJ@ncssm.edu.
As always, I look forward to your thoughts and comments on the issues discussed in the newsletter. Please feel free to respond to any issue whether it was covered in the newsletter or not. It is an honor to serve as your State Senator, and I will do everything in my power to live up to that honor.
Sincerely,
Doug Berger