On Thursday, June 19, the DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy convened a group of advocates for teen pregnancy prevention to address an issue that has run rampant for decades. 
 
The base of the conversation centered around findings from a study conducted during the summer of 2013 that interviewed teens, teen parents and parents of teens to make sense of data that showed while there has been a citywide decrease in teen pregnancy, the number of births to teens in east-of-the-river communities remain substantially high. 
 
In 2012, data from the DC Department of Health showed 192 and 265 births to teens 15-19 in wards 7 and 8, respectively.
                 
The question: Does geography equal destiny? Does the fact that a child is born and raised in Ward 7 or 8 mean that they are more likely to become a young parent with a lifetime of being undereducated, unemployed and in a perpetual state of poverty?
 
The study revealed several themes including sexually charged environments, gaps in knowledge about contraception and lack of sexual health conversations with parents—all of which can be found in youth across the city, according to Michael Perry, guest panelist and founding partner at PerryUndem, the research firm that conducted the study.
 
The difference for east-of-the-river youth related to their environments, opportunities and quality of life.
 
“A big reason why young women have children in their teens is because [of] the whole array, breadth and complexity of social problems they have to begin with,” said Robert McCartney, guest panelist and Washington Post columnist who participated in the study’s interview process. “In Wards 7 and 8, there are fewer social, educational and job opportunities—all factors that contribute to young women getting pregnant in their teens.”
 
East-of-the-river youth have internalized a notion that their communities are purposely neglected and have painted a reality for themselves where teen pregnancy is an acceptable norm and lives of stability and independence are farfetched.
 
“Risks were greater for the Ward 4 teens who had big dreams and knew if they got pregnant, it could stop those dreams—it was a reason for putting off sex for some of these teens,” said Perry.
 
In part, creating a better chance at life for east-of-the-river teens is changing the perception of their environments.
 
“We have a zip code that has been labeled one of the most dangerous, but that does not define us,” said Khadijah Tribble, guest panelist, Ward 8 resident and principal consultant at Ground Game, LLC. “Our young people are just sounding off what they’ve been told their entire lives.”
 
It's not just youth who constantly engage in demeaning conversations about their communities with their own neighbors. The media continues to portray east-of-the-river neighborhoods as poverty ridden.
 
“Our job to a large extent is to spotlight the negative stuff,” said McCartney, “We cover the planes that crash, not the ones that land safely—and if you can apply that to social problems, we’re going to write about areas that have the most social problems.”
 
Ultimately, the key to rid negative perception in these communities is to eradicate the deeply rooted issues that residents face.
 
“We need to be clear as a community who is addressing teen pregnancy what the problem is,” said Tribble. “Until you address poverty systemically, you’re still going to have high crime and teen pregnancy rates.”