The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Knowledge is power. That's Cristin Sullivan's attitude as she heads up an innovative project to educate young people in the Flin Flon-The Pas region on sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C. Her aim is to help halt the spread of such diseases by focusing on the demographic with the highest chance of contracting them. "It's true that the younger population is the one most at risk," says Sullivan, the project coordinator who is based at the Primary Health Care Centre in Flin Flon. "It's just because of the risky behaviour. They're the ones most likely to deal in unprotected sex and to experiment with drugs." Sullivan and a volunteer group called the Play It Safer Network have successfully applied for federal funding for the two-phased project, which is slated to run until 2008. The first phase, which has been underway for months, has seen Sullivan educate people who work with youth, including high school teachers and youth centre coordinators, on how to talk to teens about prevention. Part of the process includes linking the workers with a data base of community resources, including videos, presentation kits and contact information for educational organizations. Soon the Play It Safer Network will begin the second phase by involving the young people themselves, gauging their level of awareness surrounding STDs, HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C, and helping to fill in any knowledge gaps. A major step will be to form a committee made up of young people, which will discuss a tailor-made approach to awareness. Though teens already learn about HIV and AIDS in school, the network hopes to expand upon that instruction and present information in a more meaningful way. "Sometimes they don't teach something that the youth want to know," says Sullivan. The network also wants youth to learn more about Hepatitis C Ð a potentially fatal liver disease that can be spread through blood-to-blood contact, such as unsterilized tattoo needles Ð which is not taught in the schools. But educating youth is only half of the goal. Sullivan and the network also hope to involve people in the region who have Hepatitis C, HIV or AIDS and identify support needs for them. "Having Hepatitis C or HIV/AIDS in northern Manitoba or Saskatchewan is different than someone who has them in Winnipeg or Saskatoon," she says, adding that supports for those people tend to be more extensive in larger centres. In a related note, Sullivan mentioned the Canadian Institute of Health is funding a national study on people with Hepatitis C, with a focus on people in the northern part of the country. The institute wants to interview these individuals, who will remain anonymous. For more information on the study, the educational initiatives or if you are living with HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis C and want to provide input in a confidential manner, phone Cristin at 687-1342 or Marj McNeill, chairperson of the Play It Safer Network, at 687-1332. You can also e-mail [email protected]
