posted September 2, 2008
Babies have a higher risk of dying before his or her first birthday in Tennessee than in 45 other states. Few people in Tennessee are aware of the problem of infant mortality, yet a group of teens with Girls Incorporated of Chattanooga are working to change that statistic.
"Got Impact?," a new documentary on the Infant Mortality Public Awareness Campaign for Tennessee, will premiere on Sept. 4, at 6 p.m. at the United Way of Greater Chattanooga in the Community Room, 630 Market Street. A Town Hall meeting on infant mortality will be on Sept. 6, at The Kingdom Center, 730 MLK Blvd.
Since February, Girls Inc. of Chattanooga teens have met after-school, on weekends and over spring break to learn about infant mortality. Now they plan on sharing what they've learned and the media campaign they designed with the Chattanooga community.
On Sept. 4, the teens will host a premiere of a documentary about their work at the United Way of Greater Chattanooga. The following Saturday, I.M.P.A.C.T. teens have organized a Town Hall Meeting on Infant Mortality to bring together members of the community to share information and seek solutions to the problem of infant mortality in Hamilton County. Both events are open to the public.
"It's important to tell the community about infant mortality and its causes," said Jamiecia Love, I.M.P.A.C.T. (Infant Mortality Public Awareness Campaign for Tennessee) team member. "I was shocked to find out about how much infant mortality affects black women. If you are an African American woman, you are two and a half times more likely to lose your baby in its first year of life."
In 2007, the state of Tennessee ranked 45th in the nation with the highest number of infants dying before their first birthday. A grant from the Governor's Office on Childcare Coordination, through the Oasis Center in Nashville, funded Girls Inc. and a site in Nashville and Memphis to create a youth-led marketing campaign designed to raise awareness of the issues surrounding infant mortality.
Throughout the campaign, critically-acclaimed filmmaker and author Molly Secours gathered video footage created by the teens and interviewed public health experts and public officials to create a documentary on the issue of infant mortality and the teens' work to raise awareness about the issue.
Got Impact? features students from Chattanooga, Memphis and Nashville and their campaign to eliminate infant mortality in Tennessee.
Girls Inc. of Chattanooga's I.M.P.A.C.T. consists of nine teenagers ages 16-19 from throughout Hamilton County. Attending public and private schools, the youth have met since February to learn about the issues surrounding infant mortality and also work with professionals in video production, marketing, drama and public health to design a social marketing campaign aimed at reaching their peers.
The students plan to expand the program this school year by bringing experts and Chattanooga residents together to discuss infant mortality and related issues, including pre-conception health, nutrition, drug and alcohol abuse, access to health care, and teen pregnancy at community events such as the documentary premiere on Sept. 4 and the Town Hall Meeting on Sept. 6.
"I.M.P.A.C.T. really has changed my life," said Gessyca Jones. "When I got involved with the program, I was seven months pregnant. Now, I'm serving on a panel as a teen mother, and I'm so thankful for the support I've received from Girls Inc. and the Governor's office."
Other Town Hall Meeting panel members include: Jeannette Sebes McDonald, Infant Mortality Prevention Coordinator at the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department; Rashonda Lewis, Director of the Women's Health Initiative for the State of Tennessee; and Ione Farrar, Research Director at the Community Research Council.
I.M.P.A.C.T. members include Nii-lante' Boyd (Harrison), Edward Wood (East Brainerd), Kermisha Tate (East Chattanooga), Gessyca Jones (East Brainerd), Morgan Hardy (East Brainerd), Jamieca Love (Brainerd), Markesha Dunham (Downtown), Debora Bomfim (East Ridge), and Jasmine Ray (East Ridge).
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