Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains (PPRM) is implementing a new outreaching effort to make getting accurate sexual health information more accessible. The new program – entitled In Case You’re Curious – allows residents of the metro Denver area to text “ICYC” to 66746 followed by a question. Within 24 hours, staff members of the Education Team will aim to personally answer each text. The personal touch will allow educators to cater each answer to the individual needs of the texter as opposed to using animated system.

Alison Macklin, the Director of Community Education at PPRM, explained that “the program offers teens and youth in the Denver Metro area a new resource for asking sexual health questions and more importantly, getting medically accurate, age-appropriate answers to those questions.” Program leaders relate that these answers should no way be construed as medical advice nor take the place of seeing a medical professional. Also, the program leaders stated that they will not answer questions about sex positions or how to have sex.

I think this is a great program that will hopefully prove to be successful. If successful, I hope this program will serve as a model for other sexual health organizations to replicate. Most of the teens – and pretty much everyone I know – is strongly attached to their phone and are on them constantly. The service is discreet and anonymous, which might encourage teens to use if they are uncomfortable with asking a parent or a teacher about sexual health. With recent studies showing that a number of teen mothers, with unplanned pregnancies, did not think they could get pregnant and that some teens do not understand how birth control works, this program could prove to be of vital service to teens and youth.