COMMUNITY DRIVEN POPULATION AND PUBLIC HEALTH PROJECT
In 2022, Centre for Sexuality was awarded funding by the Government of Canada’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Fund (SHRF) for a project to improve public health in underserved populations in Alberta.
This exciting opportunity will allow us to reach population groups like youth, 2SLGBTQ+ people and Indigenous people, who have historically been underserved and have not been able to access our programming.
Project Streams
There are four streams within this project:
- Increase access to relationship and sexual health education in rural communities
Our first stream aims to increase access to high-quality, evidence-based relationship and sexual health education for rural communities. We are achieving this objective through bringing our Relationship and Sexual Health Education program online.
- Increase access to relationship and sexual health education in Indigenous communities
Our second stream will culturally adapt our RSE program for Indigenous youth in Treaty 7. We will also help build capacity for parents, natural supports and the community to support the sexual and reproductive health of youth. The Centre is doing this work in partnership with the communities we will serve.
- Increase access to relationship and sexual health education for people with developmental disabilities (PDD)
The third stream will develop a comprehensive RSE program for PDD, as well as programs to build capacity for natural supports and health care practitioners who support this population.
- Increase skills, comfort and communication for health care practitioners
The fourth stream of the project will develop and provide training to pre-service and practicing health care practitioners in Alberta. The goal is to build competencies for health care practitioners to provide inclusive, culturally safe and stigma-free care for underserved populations; and to better incorporate sexual and reproductive health into their practice.
“The Centre for Sexuality has been serving the community for 50 years. We know the positive impact of comprehensive sexual health education and the importance of creating programs that meet the needs of diverse communities. We also know it is essential to ensure professionals build their capacity to support individuals with barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive health services. We are grateful for this funding, which will enable the Centre for Sexuality to scale the Relationship and Sexual Health Education program and reach Canadians who have previously been unable to access our services.”
-Pam Krause, CEO