The Peer That
Doesn't Pressure
(But Still Has a Great Deal of Influence)

[This explanation of the power of Youth Communication publications originally appeared in our 1983 Annual Report.]

Parents and teachers often tell us that they have good, important advice to offer teens. But they are frustrated because adult advice lacks the credibility of advice from a peer. And therein lies a problem: much information circulated among adolescents is misguided or just plain wrong. Unfortunately, the consequences of misinformation-about birth control, drugs, or even college scholarships-can be serious.

That's where New Youth Connections (NYC) steps in. Our youth written newsmagazine offers accurate information and common sense for teens. We take advantage of our attention-grabbing, teen-to-teen presentation to give youth the kind of information they need to lead productive, healthy lives.

NYC stories acquire the credibility of peer communication because the topics are selected and written about by youngsters themselves, and the "tone" of the entire magazine says unmistakably that it is by teens, for teens.

That makes NYC's content sometimes appear controversial to adults who are unaware of the circumstances urban teens confront each day. We write about sex and birth control. We write about graffiti and teen crime. We write about teen suicide. We give adolescents accurate information on those serious topics, and we discuss options available to them. We know what teens are really thinking and talking about, and we feel that informed intervention is a better path than burying one's head in the sand and hoping things will turn out right.

We don't tell our readers how to think, or what they can or cannot do. We are realistic enough to know that adolescents are going to make up their own minds anyway. Our goal is to help them consider the full range of options available, and to consider what the consequences of various choices may be.

Our readers, by virtue of being young (and often poor), simply are not aware of what is available for them. Too many of them limit their potential through early pregnancy, drug abuse, or other self-inflicted handicaps. For young people whose world barely extends beyond a city block and a few friends at school, NYC opens their minds to new possibilities. We explain how to get college scholarships. We give tips on getting (and keeping) your first job. And, by interviewing policy makers such as the governor, we give teens a sense that they have a voice and a stake in the system.

150 Teens Can Serve a Quarter-Million

NYC works so well because it is produced by a workshop of teen writers, artists, photographers, and office workers. In four years of teaching, we have found that publishing a citywide teen newsmagazine is a particularly effective way to transmit basic literacy and job-related skills.

Not only do we offer young people in our program the opportunity to improve their writing (or typing, or drawing, or computer skills) we also offer them the chance to serve an audience, under real-life working conditions. When a student writes an article at Youth Communication, it isn't buried in a filing cabinet or composition book. Instead, it is printed and read all over the city. That provides powerful motivation.

NYC is distributed by a network of over 600 teachers, librarians and counselors, many of whom get the most out of the magazine by using it in structured settings with adolescents, such as writing classes or group counseling sessions. An average of 250,000 people read NYC each month, including many parents.

NYC is designed to be the sober, informed friend that parents wish their children had. It counsels thoughtfulness and offers alternatives to teens who are facing very difficult choices. NYC is the peer that doesn't pressure, but still manages to have a great deal of influence.

Keith Hefner
Executive Director