Supporting Local Initiatives
Funding Stream 2: Policymaker Roundtables
In fulfillment of Urban Initiative grants awarded earlier this year, two organizations recently held policymaker roundtables, with the goal of identifying and bringing together elected leaders and public health officials for briefings on pressing reproductive health issues in their communities.
On May 28, 2010, Teen Pregnancy and Prevention Partnership hosted a Policymaker Breakfast in St. Louis, Missouri with coalition partners from Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region, National Council of Jewish Women, St. Louis City Health Department, Teen Pregnancy Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and The Spot. The Roundtable addressed the high rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections in St. Louis City and St. Louis County.
Then on June 1, in Helena, Montana, where the Helena School District is currently evaluating a new Health Enhancement Curriculum, leaders from the Montana Partnership for Sex Education and NARAL Pro-Choice Montana Foundation organized a Community Forum to discuss the need for comprehensive sexuality education. Although the curriculum will not be finalized until August, Teresa Burson, Curriculum and Literacy Director of the Helena School District, shared exciting news about the curriculum guidelines and implementation timeline. Given the high rates of Chlamydia and gonorrhea, Mike Henderson from Lewis and Clark County Health Department emphasized the curriculum’s importance, alongside Helena youth, Chelsea Carlson and Richard Heitstuman. Click here to see the benchmarks set forth for the Health Enhancement Curriculum.
On May 28, NARAL Pro-Choice Montana Foundation also organized a Roundtable in Missoula, where the school district’s Health Enhancement Curriculum is also up for review.
We look forward to several more policymaker roundtables facilitated by funding from the Urban Initiative throughout the coming months!