Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest is proud to provide comprehensive, age-appropriate, and medically accurate sex education to the communities of San Diego, Riverside, and Imperial counties.
Our sex education programs come in two formats: live education and Sex Ed To-Go. Sex Ed To-Go is a free online program aimed to help people make responsible and informed decisions about their sexual health. Both our live education and Sex Ed To-Go programs are available in English and Spanish and feature activities, roleplays, and discussions that teach basic, essential, and high-quality information about sexual health.
The California Healthy Youth Act (CHYA) has allowed us to provide comprehensive sex education to many schools, however, we’re still working to increase our ability to provide sex education to schools in Imperial Valley and Coachella Valley.
One of our Imperial Valley educators, Alberto, is proud of the work we’ve been able to accomplish in Imperial Valley so far.
“Through the CA PREP grant, we have been able to implement Making Proud Choices, a comprehensive sex education program for youth ages 12-19 using incentive programs where students receive a gift card, certificate of completion, and school supplies when they complete at least 75 percent of our program.”
Even though we’re not allowed in Imperial Valley schools yet, we’ve been able to bring our programs to other areas in the community. We partner with the Imperial Valley LGBT Resource Center to teach our programs at the center, as well as partner with many apartment complexes that will provide us with space to teach. We also work with the Imperial County Department of Social Services to connect with foster youth. In addition, many Imperial Valley residents, friends, and family have reached out to receive Sex Ed To-Go training to become educators themselves.
Alberto says the best way we can fight to provide sex education in Imperial Valley schools is to gather more community support.
“We have met with school board members and superintendents and provided resources and support about our sex education programs, but nobody is fighting for us publicly. We have been here for more than 10 years and sometimes it looks like we’re not advancing, but in the community and we see the support, and we know people are thankful for the services Planned Parenthood provides.”
“We are empowering the next generation of reproductive health advocates. One day, they will be in positions of authority and can hopefully have some knowledge about Planned Parenthood and help us open more doors.”
We’ve also made great progress in implementing sex education work in Coachella Valley. In fact, for over the 23 years we’ve been in Coachella Valley, we’ve expanded our education outreach from one contact in one high school to three school districts.
Olga, one of our Coachella Valley educators, highlights the success of the Coachella Valley Peer Youth Advocate Program, one of many great programs that have allowed us to reach youth where they are and help cultivate the next generation of reproductive and sexual health care advocates.
“The Coachella Valley Peer Youth Advocate Program allows us to meet with 10 high school students every other week and provide training on reproductive and sexual health, focusing on monthly health campaigns. Coachella Valley Peer Youth Advocates serve as resources for sexual health information in their schools and communities. They promote the importance of advocating for health, health relationships, and gender equality.”
Planned Parenthood’s Promotorx program also provides sex education for communities, which has helped improve sexual health outcomes. Olga notes that the Promotorx program has been especially successful in Coachella Valley.
“Through the Promotorx program, we are able to collaborate with local residents to increaseawareness of reproductive health care and sex education rights by: providing education, outreach, and access to health care services; and cultivating a new generation of community leaders by educating community members about public policy and legislation that impacts reproductive and sexual health rights. Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest’s Promotorx staff provide medically accurate, comprehensive sex education through a community health worker model to local community members. These bilingual community advocates engage with their communities to educate their peers, in a one to one or small group setting, and in virtual settings as needed.”
Learn more about the education programs at Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest.
Learn more about the Sex Education Collaborative and Sex Ed For All Month.
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