A conference today and Friday in Ames is arrestingly titled “Whispers and Screams.” It’s aimed at finding out the real needs of young women, and is sponsored by the gender-specific services task force of the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women. Today’s keynote speaker is Dr. Terry Tafoya, a Native American social psychologist. He says the goal is to change high-risk behaviors in girls, and find out what young women need to become healthy people.He says people need different things at different times, and any single program can’t meet everyone’s need. Tafoya says listening is key to offering help to youth in a troubled world. He says a healthy community would deal with alcohol, sexual abuse and violence, so promoting a healthy community is where to start. Tafoya was on a team of Native American leaders dealing with substance-abuse problems in Indian people, and he says what’s most critical is not the right answers, but coming up with the right questions. The full name of the conference at the Gateway Center hotel in Ames is “Whispers and Screams are Hard to Hear — Creating an Audience for Girls’ Voices.”
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