A Collective Response to NYC’s “Think Being a Teen Parent Won’t Cost You?” Campaign

When the new NYC teen pregnancy prevention ad campaign came out, all of us at the CLRJ office took a collective sigh. We know that the targeting of this “shame game” is strategic, not new, and we also know that it probably won’t just happen in New York. Time and time again, pregnant and parenting youth are seen as society’s “failures,” “unfit caregivers” and “bad” influences on other youth. However, here at CLRJ, our work with our Justice for Young Families Initiative has proven the opposite. We’ve heard stories from pregnant and parenting youth that the birth of their child has motivated them to continue striving and focus on ...