Oct 30, 2014

A month long campaign will launch this Halloween weekend, the Sexual Health Decision Making: Targeting Youth to Reduce Harm Initiative. The Initiative is a partnership with the Safer Bar Committee and four taxi companies, which will provide access to free condoms and increase awareness on the importance of condom use. Taxi drivers will have a denim bag positioned in the back seat Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings with condoms that their customers can take for free.

“This campaign will promote safer sex practices by educating youth about the importance of condom use and having them available at no cost when they might need them,” said Kim Dawson, Western Health’s Reproductive Health Consultant.  “The goal is to reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted infections, unplanned pregnancies and abortions in the Western region. A campaign like this will help Western Health improve the health status of youth in our region.”

The taxi companies who are partnering in this Initiative are Deer Lake Taxi, Star Taxi in Corner Brook, Blue Bird Taxi in Stephenville and Scott’s Taxi in Port aux Basques. After the month long Initiative, the taxi drivers will complete an evaluation to provide feedback from customers.

This initiative is supported by Sexual Health Working Group from Western Health and the Safer Bar Committee which is comprised of several community based organizations AIDS Committee of Newfoundland and Labrador, Corner Brook Women’s Centre, Western Regional Coalition to End Violence, and Community Mental Health Initiative. Their objectives are to prevent negative outcomes and reduce the negative health impacts or harms associated with decision making under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

This initiative builds on last year’s Safer Bars Campaign, a campaign with QR codes that could be scanned by smart phones for instant access to www.clubcode.ca. The website contains information about standard drink sizes, sexual violence, safer sex, drinking and driving, as well as local community resources and other sites to contact for additional assistance. The Safer Bar Campaign’s messages range from the importance of condom use and sexual consent, to responsible drinking.

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Media Contact:
Heidi Staeben-Simmons
Director of Communications
709-637-5252
heidistaebensimmons@westernhealth.nl.ca