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CHICAGO_With teenage pregnancies doubling in the last ten years in their neighborhood, young leaders from the Brighton Park Youth Council (BPYC) are implementing a new pregnancy prevention program for their community.

"Teens in my neighborhood are growing up too naive. They think nothing can happen to them, and then they end up pregnant or with some disease. Kids need to know about the consequences of what they do. That's why we're fighting to get a new teen pregnancy prevention program started for our community, before more teens get hurt," said BPYC member Alvaro Salda.

The program, designed by local youth, includes talks from teen mothers, lessons taught by peer educators, and an open question and answer period with bilingual community doctors. The first stage of the program will target sixth, seventh and eighth graders in a program developed by teen educators from a local high school.

The teen leaders are also working to increase the health services offered by local clinics for teens and teen parents; including free pregnancy and HIV testing, classes for parents of teens, and better access to daycare programs for teen mothers.

"A lot of parents aren't talking to their kids about sex, and sometimes teachers are too embarrassed. So kids are getting their information from the streets or TV and movies. We think it is so important that people get the right information," said Pepe Bravo, a BPYC member.

In a youth-run public meeting last October, BPYC called upon the city of Chicago to help reduce teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases through the new program. The teens received pledges of support for this important new program from the attendees, including the Commissioner of Public Health for the City of Chicago, local doctors and hospitals and the local alderman.