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Wrap It Up, Kids: New Program Shows Teens Where to Get Free Condoms
Photo by robertelyov via Flickr.
A new program run by TeenSource.org and the California Department of Public Health’s STD Control Branch does the unthinkable -- it makes condoms accessible to teenagers. (!!!)
The program, appropriately entitled the Condom Access Project (CAP), gives kids a list of places close to where they live or go to school that provide condoms free of charge. All the teenager in question has to do is enter their zip code, city and date of birth (it won't work if they enter a date of birth that reveals them to be under the age of 12) on the TeenSource.org website, and a list of places like the Saban Free Clinic and Planned Parenthood pops up.
The project is based in part around the well-known fact that going to the store to buy condoms is so embarrassing -- or simply unaffordable -- for young people that many of them would rather forgo the safety measure altogether than risk being seen by one of their nosy neighbors.
But of course, the program -- whose goal is to reduce STDs and unplanned teen pregnancy -- has its naysayers. According to KTLA, "critics say it's making teen sex too easy and accessible."
Because we all know that without condoms, teens absolutely will not have sex.
In other parts of the state, teenagers can actually order condoms online through CAP. The contraceptive devices are then mailed in a "discreet envelope," notes KTLA, along with lube and a health brochure.
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