[MCN] Sex ed afterschool program offered in Missoula

[Kelly McGuire]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:


For parents who are looking for more comprehensive sexuality education for
their middle schoolers, look no further.

A new sexuality education curriculum is being offered at the Missoula YMCA
as a once-weekly afterschool program. The program is being offered as a
collaboration between Planned Parenthood of Montana, Missoula City-County
Relationship Violence Services, and EmpowerMT.

Christopher Coburn, one of the program’s organizers, noted the need for a
program that includes education for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,
and queer (LGBTQ) youth. “LGBTQ youth are excluded from traditional sex ed
taught in schools and, as a consequence, experience higher rates of
sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unplanned pregnancies than their
heterosexual peers,” he said. Coburn is an outreach educator for Missoula’s
Planned Parenthood and coordinates Teen Council, a peer education program
that provides healthy sexuality lessons for Missoula high school students.

The program is adapted from Our Whole Lives (OWL), a holistic sexuality
education program that “moves beyond the intellect to address the
attitudes, values, and feelings that youth have about themselves and the
world”. Unlike many other sexuality curricula currently available, Coburn
said, the OWL curriculum is comprehensive and progressive. The curriculum
was developed by the Unitarian Universalist Church and the United Church of
Christ, though Missoula’s program will be entirely secular in nature.

Jesse Jaeger works for local non-profit EmpowerMT and is another of the
program’s organizers. His ulterior motive in organizing the program was to
have his son participate. "My wife and I want our 8th grade son to have a
full and healthy life,” he said. “Healthy sexuality is a big part of that,
so we are excited to have a comprehensive and inclusive sexuality education
program like Our Whole Lives getting started here in Missoula."

The program is designed for up to fifteen 7th and 8th grade youth. Weekly
workshops will begin in January and continue through April of 2017. A
sliding fee will be assessed for the program to cover the cost of materials
and supplies, ranging from $25 to $75 depending on household income. No
participant will be turned away for the inability to pay.

Parents can find more information about the program online at
http://bit.ly/OWLMissoula.

CONTACT:
Christopher Coburn
Outreach Educator
Planned Parenthood of Montana
(406) 830-3730
Christopher.coburn at ppmontana.org



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