ALASKA NATIVES COMMISSION
JOINT FEDERAL-STATE COMMISSION
ON
POLICIES AND PROGRAMS AFFECTING
ALASKA NATIVES
4000 Old Seward Highway, Suite 100
Anchorage,
Alaska 99503
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Witness List | Exhibit
List
| PDF Version
Deposition Exhibit #7 - Testimony
of Melinda Peter
Melinda Peter, Ft. Yukon
My name is Melinda Peter. I am a youth from Fort Yukon.
I want
to talk about concerns the youth in Fort Yukon and the other
villages have. It is something that I have experienced
- Teenage Pregnancy. I have a son that was born this year on
January 29. Jared is five months old now.
I know that the youth
have heard a lot about it but are they really trying to prevent
it? Are they practicing safe sex?
I know that I heard a lot about it all the time, but I never
did
anything about it. I thought teenage pregnancy was something
that would never happen to me. I was pretty sure of that.
But I was wrong. It did happen to me. It's something that I never
expected. I can't even begin to tell you how hard and how
much
frustration there is in raising a child. It really changes
your life. You have to grow up real fast and start taking
a lot of
responsibility. You're bringing another human being into
the world and you have to raise that baby the best that you can.
I want to go to college and stuff, but I don't know if I'll
be able to do it now.
I still have one more year of high
school and it's so hard to try to raise a baby and do homework
and stuff at the same
time.
I'm lucky to have my family and my friends helping me out.
But even with their help it's still hard at times. A lot
of girls
don't even have anyone to turn to. Their boyfriend or whoever
got them pregnant might not even care. I'm not saying that
this is only a girl's problem, it is also a boy's problem.
I really
urge the youth and any others who may be sexually active
to USE condoms and practice safe sex.
Condoms not only
prevent pregnancy, they also protect against HIV and a lot
of other sexually transmitted diseases. Both
boys and girls should carry condoms, Even if you're not
sexually active
you never know what will happen. Tell your friends and
family to use them too. Condoms are really easy to get.
Some people
think it's too embarrassing to buy or ask for them. But
would you rather be embarrassed for a few minutes or
have HIV?
Go to the store and buy or go to your local health clinic
and
get them
free.
I hope youth will learn from my experience with
teenage pregnancy and use some type of birth control during
sex. And also remember
that latex condoms are the only things that will protect
you against HIV and sexually transmitted diseases.
This document was ocr scanned. We have made every
attempt to keep the online document the same as the original,
including the recorder's original misspellings or typos.
