The Community Programs Department of Planned Parenthood of Western New York promotes healthy sexuality through sexuality and reproductive health education and outreach. We work with youth, parents, schools, health departments, and other organizations in a collaborative effort to improve reproductive health for all in Western New York.
Planned Parenthood of Western New York Community Programs:
- Provide comprehensive, age appropriate, evidence based, and medically accurate sexuality education to promote abstinence, delay the onset of sexual activity and reduce the practice of risky sexual behaviors among youth. Evidence-based programs we provide are: Project AIM (Adult Identity Mentoring) in middle schools, Be Proud, Be Responsible in high schools, and the Teen Health Project with Teen Health Councils in community-based settings. Our How To Be An Askable Parent workshops accompany these and other programs to help connect youth and parents in conversations about the importance of healthy sexual choices. We also offer our signature programs, Responisble Males and Circle of Friends.
- Ensure access to comprehensive reproductive health care and family planning services for teens to prevent pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and HIV/AIDS. We now offer expanded hours for Teen Walk-In Clinics, individual education sessions, expanded Mobile Outreach Reproductive Health Medical Services, Teen "Reality" Theater performances, and NFTA tokens (bus and train tokens) to help those in need of transportation to and from our medical centers.
- Expand educational, social and recreational, vocational and economic opportunities for teens, including high risk and disconnected youth, to provide alternatives to sexual activity and to develop skills that can support a successful transition into healthy young adulthood. We have enhanced our Connection Teen Afterschool site in Niagara Falls, NY, where we now offer Cooking and Nutrition at The Connection classes, Teens in the Know workshops, and a lot more. We take youth on field trips, offering a College Prep series, fund youth speakouts and other special events.
- Advance a comprehensive and sustainable local community effort to improve the community environment for adolescents, reducing initial and subsequent adolescent pregnancy, STDs, and HIV/AIDS rates and reducing health disparities related to race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and geography. Together with other local organizations, Planned Parenthood of Western New York is part of CAPP Community Councils in the Greater Buffalo area and in Niagara County. We engage youth, parents, professionals and other adults conducting community wide needs assessments in both areas.
