Contemporary Sexuality - April 2009 - (Page 7) President’s Letter AASECT and Planned Parenthood: Making a difference By Helen “Ginger” Bush, MSW I recently had the pleasure to speak to the staff of Planned Parenthood of South Florida and the Treasure Coast (PPSFTC), a nonprofit health care agency. PPSFTC’s newly expanded territory consists of eight counties and more than 6 million people, about one-third of Florida’s population. Triste Brooks, a member of AASECT’s Finance Committee and chief operating officer at PPSFTC, asked me to talk about sexuality in relation to my travels to Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia because their vision is to think globally and act locally. Triste noted her organization’s commitment to AASECT certification is so strong that they plan on having seven more staff complete their certification this year. PPSFTC has a very diverse group of staff that includes Latinos, Haitians and AfricanAmericans, many of whom are AASECT-certified. AASECT member Wayne Pawlowski assists with the certification process. The staff looks forward to attending the AASECT annual conference. PPSFTC has a great commitment to diversity as evidenced by their various education programs and is distinguished among Planned Parenthood affiliates in that they have one of the largest education departments in the country. Their $4 million budget and 60 staffers serve close to 100,000 clients last year. The core education programs include: • Teen Time after-school programs, which are PPSFTC has a great commitment to diversity as Planned Parenthood staff at Boca Health Center opening. evidenced by their various education programs and is distinguished among Planned Parenthood affiliates in that they have one of the largest education Lillian A. Tamayo, President and CEO of PPSFTC (center), and the designers of the new health center. departments in the country. Triste Brooks, Ginger Bush and Wayne Pawlowski (fifth, sixth and seventh persons from left) and several staffers at PPSFTC. based on Michael Carrera’s teen pregnancy prevention model, take place in three churches and one housing project serving African American, Haitian, Caribbean, Latino and Mayan youth. The program also includes a medical and education program that serves over 12,000 teens. • La Promesa, serving over 13,000 individuals annually, links underserved Latino residents with culturally and linguistically competent sexual/reproductive health care and education with a focus on breast and cervical cancer and STIs, including HIV. This program won the American Public Health Latino Caucus Award for Community Education and Outreach Programs and Planned Parenthood’s Community Education Award. • Adult Role Models Program partners with Latino, Haitian, and African-American parents to train adult role models to teach other parents to talk openly and informatively with their children about sexuality and sexual health. The role continued on page 14 April 2009 Vol. 43, No. 4 | www.aasect.org Contemporary Sexuality 7 http://www.aasect.org
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