Poster contest targets domestic violence

MAT-SU — It’s pretty amazing what you can put together in a couple of months.

The Mat-Su Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition, for instance, was able to get 56 posters submitted to a contest, choose winners and hand out an iPad, an iTouch, $100 worth of music and hundreds more in money for art supplies.

Along the way the organization forged relationships with local art teachers, gave those teachers another positive way to interact with their students and shone a spotlight on Alaska’s domestic violence problem.

Not bad for an effort that started in late February and wrapped up on April 12.

Desiree Compton, community impact director for United Way Mat-Su and a member of that coalition, said the poster contest grew out of the coalition’s youth board, which formed about a year ago.

“We’re trying to engage in positive peer pressure to counter negative peer pressure,” Compton said.

She said the group’s focus is on substance abuse, but that problem goes hand-in-hand with domestic violence. The group wanted to do something to help the Choose Respect program, which sent marchers into the streets around the state last month to draw attention to the problem of domestic violence.

So she asked them, “What do you think would be a good way to promote this among other kids?”

They came up with the poster contest and a $2,000 micro-grant from the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault allowed them to buy the prizes.

But there were difficulties. Compton pointed to two. First, it was hard to find a good way to solicit entries. Second, judging those entries was a laborious process.

The youth board actually came up with a good solution to that first difficulty — get in touch with local art teachers. Compton said she reached out to all of them and Colony High School and Houston Middle School jumped on board. Working with art teachers had the added bonus of making the contest a school project.

“I could have had people send me and bring me their artwork but that wouldn’t be as powerful because it wouldn’t be hanging in schools,” she said.

The teachers actually got in on the contest as well, Compton said, with a competition for who could display the posters in the most creative and striking way. The winner was Roy Stone in Houston who got $500 in art supplies for his design.

As for that second difficulty; Compton said that the board decided to judge the entries themselves. If anyone decides to do this next year, Compton said, it might be a good idea to have individual schools pick their favorites. That way even more kids in the schools will look at and think about the posters.

First place in the contest went to Ariana Abrahams at Houston Middle School. She won the iPad. Second place and an iTouch went to Larrica Forrester of Colony High School. Third place and $100 worth of iTunes downloads went to Terrence Thompson in Houston.

Compton said she’s thrilled with the way it all worked out.

“It was a young people’s idea and you get young people powered up about something and they deliver,” she said.

As for the impact of the contest, Compton said she hopes it made a difference. And it was certainly worth the money.

“Even if it only makes one person approach a relationship in a healthy way later on then it will save in the long run,” she said.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.