Planned Parenthood Association of Utah (PPAU) is bringing a new teen program to Park City on September 15. It addresses research that shows high rates of teen pregnancy and STD’s in LGBTQ youth. Sex Education in the schools and communities does not include this group of young people. PPAU has a new curriculum to address the disparity. Carolyn Murray has this:
Teen Council is a peer training model used by PPAU. It’s made up of students who are taught how to talk to peers openly and accurately about reproductive and sexual health information. PPAU is offering Summit and Wasatch County students an opportunity to participate in a similar peer to peer program specifically built to address the high rates of STD, teen pregnancy, depression, substance abuse and bullying in the LGBTQ student community.
PPAU Community Educator, Cecilia Hackerson says standard sex ed curriculum is not designed to speak to LGBTQ youth. She says this new program teaches youth how to avoid risky behavior and have honest conversations with health providers.
“We do know that research shows, LGBTQ’s have higher unintended pregnancies s well as STD rates. And we know that in general, LGBTQ’s re facing higher levels of discrimination and harassment, family rejection, higher numbers of issues with substance abuse. So, their voices and their needs are really being left out of the sex education conversation which is something we are definitely trying to address.”
Dalia Gonzales is Planned Parenthood’s Teen Council Facilitator. She will lead a workshop called Healthy Relationships. She says they’ve held the training in Salt Lake City and Orem.
“What’s being taught in our schools is not necessarily as comprehensive as is our In Clued program and Healthy Relationships. We know, here in the state of Utah, we have abstinence-based curriculums for education at the public level. But, the IN Clued curriculum will definitely include an inclusive component. It looks like with the trends that we have already with the success of this workshop and the research that we’ve done, we will probably be able to make it evidenced based and any other organization can go ahead and get trained and be able to facilitate this program.”
Gonzalez says they’re using local resources to get the word out about the workshop. They’ll have food and raffle giveaways. Hackerson says they’ve taken extra care to create a comfortable, safe environment
“We make a lot of effort to make sure that the teens who are coming, feel safe and welcome and that we keep the teens confidential. Teens can opt into the study if approved. We really want to impart the message that it’s a safe space to come to as well.”
Hackerson says they will randomly assign attendees to one of the two workshops. Two workshops will be offered that day and she says there are lots of activities that make for a fun day for the students.
“One would be the Healthy Relationships workshop that Dalia would run. The other is a workshop facilitated by myself and an other community educator as well as a number of our peer educators from our Salt Lake Teen Council. These teens are trained to really reach their peers and to talk about sexual health."
It runs 10 to 2 on Saturday and is designed for ages 14 to 19. It will be at the Blair Education Center at Park City Hospital. They’ll serve breakfast and lunch with added enticements like gift cards and raffle opportunities. To sign up go to Facebook or Instagram. Links will be on KPCW.org posted with this story.
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