Improving communication between adults and young people is the focus of three Pierre meetings Thursday.

Les Franklin, founder of the Shaka Franklin Foundation for Youth in Colorado, will speak with parents, service providers and other interested community members at a "bring your own lunch" session from noon through 2p.m. in the basement of the Lutheran Memorial Church at 320 E Prospect Ave. and in the lower level of Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, 304 N. Euclid Ave., from 5p.m. through 7 p.m.

According to event organizers, Franklin will focus on discussing methods with which supporting parents and other community members can promote adolescent well-being. He will offer participants suggestions for effective communication.

Franklin is also inviting all area school staff to a session on educator's information from 3p.m. through 4:30p.m. at the Lutheran Memorial Church basement.

The Shaka Franklin Foundation was established by Franklin following the 1990 suicide of his son, Shaka. Organizers said that Franklin has committed his life to assisting other parents in recognizing factors associated with adolescent suicide.

The foundation's mission is to provide positive alternatives to temporary problems faced by young people.

Franklin, the director of the state of Colorado's Governor's Job Training Office, has taken his message to the airwaves through appearances on the Montel Williams Show, the Phil Donahue Show and the 700 Club.

The meetings in Pierre are sponsored by the Pierre and Fort Pierre Suicide Coalition, the Pierre and Fort Pierre Ministerium and the Central South Dakota Adolescent Health Advisory Council through a grant from the South Dakota Department of Health.