Youth in Action: Raising Awareness and Educating the Public, December 1999 No. 12, What Does It Take To Start a Public Awareness and Education Project?

A lot of planning goes into organizing a public awareness and education project. Your group will need to consider some basic planning issues and make some initial decisions. These may change later, but you will need a platform from which to begin. Ask your group: What topic do we want to focus on? How can we make people aware of this? What educational information do we want to present? The answers to these questions will go a long way toward framing the kind of project or campaign you will plan and carry out.

Next, you will need to determine your audience. Doing this and choosing your topic are closely linked. Some topics may not be appropriate for certain age groups. Consider your topics and audiences carefully. Date rape, for example, is not likely to be an appropriate topic for youth younger than 12. Auto theft and alcohol-related driving offenses are more applicable to people of legal driving age. Prevention of bicycle theft and education on curfew laws may be good topics for younger audiences.

Planning a Successful Project

For more information on how to plan a successful project, see the National Youth Network's Planning a Successful Crime Prevention Project. This 28-page workbook explains the five steps of the Success Cycle:

The workbook includes six worksheets for you to take notes on. You can get a copy of this planning workbook from the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse, listed in the "Resources" section. Good luck!

To help determine who your audience will be, do some research at the local library and contact the local police or sheriff's department and your school administration. Ask other youth if they would be interested in the topic. Ask yourself the following questions: Who can take action against this problem? Who can benefit most from information on the topic? Whom can I reach through various kinds of media? You might want to reach people in one neighborhood or students in a particular school. Perhaps you'll decide to focus on all youth ages 7 to 12 or on all people over age 60.

The first thing you need to do is choose the topic about which you want to make others aware. Some good topics for education and awareness projects are:

	The prevention of auto theft.
	The prevention of drug abuse.
	The dangers of drinking and driving.
	The effects of vandalism and graffiti on the community.
	The consequences of shoplifting.
	The benefits of a Neighborhood Watch.
	The dangers and prevalence of date rape.
	The benefits of home security.

After you have chosen a topic, you will need to focus your information on a central message or theme.

To develop a message, ask what two or three main points the audience should learn from your efforts. Resist the temptation to communicate the whole range of potential issues. It would be great to teach the community everything you know about your topic, but studies show that people only take away one main message and that they need to see or hear it several times (as many as a dozen) before they will clearly recall and understand it. For example, if you've decided to begin a campaign on auto theft prevention and the target audience is new drivers ages 16 to 21, you might want to convey these messages:

	"Lock your car even when you'll be gone just a minute. It takes a thief only a minute to steal your car."
	"Take the key [out of the ignition] so thieves won't take your car."
	"Take control; take the keys; use the locks. Don't let a thief leave you carless."

These messages basically state the same theme—that many cars are taken because they are unlocked or because the keys are left in them—in different ways.

Be sure to talk with people in the intended audience. Listen closely to their responses as you ask how they see the issue or problem, what they already know or believe, what they think they can do, what they think others can or should do, and what appeals to them. Responses from the audience will tell you what aspects of your main theme to emphasize.

Once you've selected a topic, you should learn the facts regarding that topic. Obtain the most current data. Find out about new technologies, new research discoveries, and prevention approaches that have been tried. You can learn about your topic from libraries, local law enforcement officers, professional organizations that deal with your topic, and the Internet.

	What causes the problem in your community.
	What prevention strategies present the best chances of reducing crime.
	Who in your community should receive this information.
	What resources exist for the general public.

Now that you know the topic you want to focus on, the audience you want to educate, and the most current information on the topic, you need to decide how to get your message out. Will you use TV, radio, or newspapers? Will you create a Web site, brochure, or poster? Don't limit yourself—be creative. While TV, newspapers, and radio ads may reach a lot of people, they can be quite expensive. You also need to consider your audience. Second graders probably won't read an ad in the newspaper. They might, how-ever, read the comics section or a special kids' page in the newspaper. A brochure that can be read quickly is more effective for some audiences than a 10-page newsletter, no matter how much information it contains. A poster in a school hallway that's seen four or five times a day can have a more lasting effect than a one-shot television news story.

Older people often gather at senior centers and enjoy programs that bring them useful information; a series of presentations at these centers may reach more of your audience than any booklet, report, or newsletter. In addition, adult civic, social, and fraternal groups often welcome speakers on important subjects; why not a youth with helpful news to share?

Your peers listen to specific radio stations and look at specific publications, such as the school newspaper. An on-air interview or letter to the editor can spread the word about your program. A shopping mall may provide a perfect site for a community crime prevention fair, a 1- or 2-day event with some key messages for adults, youth, and children.

Ask yourself and your group how you get your news, where you learn about new trends, and how you find out useful information. Ask people in your target group these same questions. Develop a strategy based on the forms of communication you have available and the resources you can tap. Pick several ways to reach the audience and rank them by priority.

You will need plenty of volunteers to make your public awareness and education project successful. Develop a list of experts you can call upon: artists, announcers, public relations specialists, teachers, activists, distributors, speakers, writers, designers, and others. Solicit volunteers from your school, other schools in the area, youth groups in the community, businesses, and professional organizations. Explain the talents you're seeking and the opportunity the volunteers will have to be involved in an exciting activity that will help the whole community. Don't forget to recruit communications professionals, business people, and others who can lend equipment, ideas, and experience. See the "Resources" section at the end of this Bulletin for organizations that can help with recruitment and other parts of your program.

Figure out what you will need for your project. Are you counting on local TV and radio stations for air time or on a major local daily newspaper for print space? If so, talk with public service managers and public affairs directors. Do you need printing services? Check with the vocational education staff at your local high school about whether this can become a printing class project. Will you have to enlarge photos or design displays? Find out whether art or photography students at the high school or local college might help. Many campaigns can be carried out with a remarkably small amount of money, drawing on donated goods and services and borrowed equipment. For instance, national organizations (such as the National Network for Youth, the Advertising Council, Inc., and the Office of National Drug Control Policy) and local affiliates of national organizations (such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving and Students Against Destructive Decisions) may have printed materials available on issues such as drinking and driving, runaway and homeless youth, and drug abuse prevention. See the "Resources" section for contact information.