"It just happened,” is what teens often say when confronted with questions about pregnancy. To highlight the importance of parent/teen communication, DC Campaign held a briefing to release, “It Just Happened,” a comic book written and produced by the Youth Leadership Task Force. The comic book focuses on situations that teens encounter every day and stresses the importance of why families must talk about teen pregnancy prevention.

• Don’t assume the worst
• Be ready to listen and not judge
• If you don’t know an answer to a question, say so
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help
• Start talking early
• Familiarize yourself with the subject matter
• Continue to talk

Boyd and Greene talked about their work on the comic book, trying to make it teen savvy yet something that adults could understand as well. The most difficult aspect of the comic book was how to end it. The Youth Leadership Task Force members had different scenarios for the ending, which had to be voted upon.

Jones, a successful DC Campaign parent peer educator talked about the importance of families talking about teen pregnancy prevention. Vu gave an over view of the difficulties Vietnamese parents have when talking about love, sex and relationships with their teens because it has always been a subject that is taboo.

DC Campaign partnered with Advocates for Youth, Young Playwrights’ Theater and the Vietnamese-American Community Service Center. The event was held in the Longworth House Office Building from 10 a.m. until noon on Friday, October 24, 2004.

To print your own copy of the comic book click here.