Teen Pregnancy Coalition offers workshops for parents and guardians

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 7, 2013

LAS VEGAS – The Southern Nevada Teen Pregnancy Prevention Coalition is hosting a series of free workshops for parents and guardians interested in developing skills to effectively talk to their pre-teen and teen children about sexual relationships, preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. For more information, or to sign up for a workshop call (702) 759-0831.

The first workshop is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 29, from 6-8:30p.m. at the Walnut Cecile Community Center located at 3075 Walnut Road, Las Vegas, Nev. 89115. More workshops are planned targeting parents and guardians in zip codes identified as high risk, including: 89119, 89115, 89030, 89106, 89101, 89102, and 89109. According to the Nevada State Health Division, in 2008, youth living within these zip codes represented 23 percent of teen births in Clark County.

Nevada ranks number two in the nation for teenage pregnancies and number ten for teenage births. In order to better address this issue the Southern Nevada Health District Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program staff collaborated with local community organizations to form the Southern Nevada Teen Pregnancy Prevention Coalition to work together to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Southern Nevada youth through education, training, advocacy and increased access to services.

“According to recent estimates teen childbearing in Nevada cost taxpayers at least $84.3 million. This includes the costs of public health care, child welfare, increased incarceration costs and loss of tax revenue. If we are going to effectively reduce this burden on our community we knew we needed to engage the community and introduce innovative programs and new approaches to address our high rates of teen pregnancy,” said Bonnie Sorenson, director of clinics and nursing for the health district.

The health district received funding from the Office of Adolescent Health to develop a sustainable community coalition to reinforce positive messages about abstinence, safer sex and available sexual health services to its target population, which includes at-risk African American and Latino youth age 13-18.

The Southern Nevada Health District serves as the local public health authority for Clark County, Boulder City, Henderson, Las Vegas, Mesquite and North Las Vegas. The agency safeguards the public health of the community’s residents and visitors through innovative programs, regulations, and initiatives focused on protecting and promoting their health and well-being. More information about the Health District, its programs, services, and the regulatory oversight it provides is available at www.SNHD.info. Follow the Health District on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.