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Planned Parenthood of Idaho reaches out to Latino community
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Language barriers don’t stop Planned Parenthood of Idaho (PPI) from educating those in need.
On Saturday, Dec. 1, PPI hosted a free class for pre-teen Latinos and their parents.
The class, titled “All about Puberty,” was offered in hopes of educating parents and their youth on pregnancy and STI prevention.
“Racial and ethnic minorities continue to be disproportionately affected by STIs,” PPI President and CEO Rebecca Poedy said.
The event, which was offered only in Spanish, focused on such subjects as male/female changes during puberty, sexual harassment, abuse, peer pressure, pregnancy and STIs.
According to an article released in 2003 by Advocates for Youth, Latina teens had the highest birthrate in 2000 when compared to other ethnic groups.
Latino teens also suffered a higher chlamydia and gonorrhea rate between 1988 and 2000.
“Too few people, including pre-teens, have access to educational information that can prevent unplanned pregnancies and STI’s later in life,” Peody said.
This interactive course is taught by PPI Sexual Health Educator Mercedes Munoz.
Munoz has taught sexual health education courses for most of her career.
Beside educating the students, this course was designed to teach parents ways to engage their children in the topic of sexuality.
“People always like the ‘Let’s Talk’ courses because parents have difficulty talking to their kids about sexual health,” PPI Public Affairs Field Organizer Burke Hays said.
The course is offered about every three months in various forms.
In the past, PPI has put on events talking about both sexual health education and breast health.
“Those [classes] are pretty broad tools that seem to be pretty effective,” Burke said. “Parents find that helpful.”
The program is dependent upon a grant funded by the Education Foundation of America and individual PPI donors.
PPI hopes to continue receiving the grant, so that it may be able to put on many more events in the future.
Anyone wishing to find out about future events may call the PPI Education Department at 376-2277, extension 14.
COLBY STREAM
News Writer