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Leaders from Chicago Youth United, a coalition of Blocks Together and the Brighton Park Youth Council, will soon see their anti-drug messages reach the streets of their neighborhoods on billboards made by youth and for youth.

Hard work paid off August 18 in negotiations with Eller Media, in which CYU got an agreement for three anti-drug billboards to be placed in their neighborhoods. These billboards will promote involvement in the activities of Blocks Together and the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council as a positive alternative to drugs and gangs.

"We need these anti-drug billboards to show youth that there are positive alternatives right here in their own neighborhood that they can join to help make a difference," says Pepe Bravo of the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council.

The youth originally began the campaign by asking for billboards from the Office of National Drug Control Policy in a meeting with Rob Housman last October. They received a promise to be included in the government's anti-drug billboard campaign that, in short, went nowhere despite extensive media coverage of the issue. The coalition decided to focus instead on local agencies that could give them the billboards. The youth from the three communities invited representatives from billboard owner Eller Media Company, Chicago Advertising Federation, and the Mayors Office of Substance Abuse Policy to attend a public meeting in July.

Fed up with the negative images that plague their community, 130 people who attended the meeting brought media attention to the issue afterward by rallying around a billboard owned by Eller that promotes beer.

"We have so many advertisements around here for alcohol and cigarettes. People are tired of it and want to see something positive about the youth," said Jasmine Salgado of Blocks Together.

One week after the public meeting, the three groups brought 60 youth to Eller's office to demand results. They secured a commitment to a negotiation session with an Eller official. The youth got Eller to sign a contract to provide them with three large billboards to run for a minimum of three months. After the three-month term, Eller will meet with the Chicago youth again to determine where new space is available for the billboards.

According to Yessenia Rodriguez of Blocks Together, "I think they were really surprised by how reasonable we were in the negotiation and how much research we had done on their company. We knew some things that they weren't even sure about."

Eller is an international company with billboards all across the United States. If your organization is interested in designing it's own billboard and seeking a commitment from Eller Media Co. to donate their services, check their website for the contact nearest you at www.ellermedia.com. It may take a lot of work, but as the Chicago youth have proven, it can be done.