The Love Bus: Sex Ed on the Move
Donation protected
The Love Bus: Sex Ed on the Move (“The Love Bus”), a Michigan 501-(C) 3 corporation, plans to provide free reproductive health education and prevention resources to at-risk high school and college students as well as their parents with the primary focus on becoming comfortable with uncomfortable conversations related to sexual health.
Based on a successful public health model in Sweden, The Love Bus will present information and resources to young adults, utilizing a modified bus to transport peer mentors to college campuses, beaches, local concerts, festivals and other public spaces in West Michigan that are easily accessible for students of all economic levels.
Under the supervision of a registered nurse with more than 27 years of nursing experience, The Love Bus will use peer mentors to engage and educate students through conversation and the distribution of printed safe-sex materials and condoms. All information will be presented in a manner that is informative and non-threatening.
The Love Bus was started in 2009 by a West Michigan RN, who observed increasing numbers of teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) during her work at local clinics and schools. In talking with heterosexual and LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning) young adults, she found they lacked access to accurate, understandable information about reproduction, STIs, sexual coercion, or bullying related to their sexuality.
For many, the topic of sex was confusing, embarrassing or too taboo to talk about. As a result, many ended up making uninformed choices or allowed themselves to be taken advantage of in situations involving their sexuality. Faced with this information, she developed a plan to deliver information and create productive conversations about reproductive health based on a “love bus” model pioneered in Sweden and later replicated in Germany, Austria and other European countries.
She worked with advisers to set up the organization as a 501(C) 3 and funded all legal and other costs out of her own pocket. Today, The Love Bus is preparing to launch in the spring of 2016. The primary mission of The Love Bus is to educate young adults on how to navigate difficult conversations regarding sexual health to decrease risk taking behaviors and promote responsible sexual decisions.
The societal costs related to teen sexuality are staggering, particularly in Michigan. According to the 2013 Youth Behavior Risk Survey 38% of Michigan high school students have had sexual intercourse. Of those who are currently sexually active 61% used a condom at last intercourse.
In 2014 Michigan reported 32,108 positive cases of Chlamydia for those 24 and under. This age group accounts for 71% of all Chlamydia cases. Teen birth rates for women between the ages of 15 and 19 are steadily decreasing – approximately 21% from 2010-2013 – the cost to Michigan taxpayers is an estimated $283million annually.
More than anything, we believe the conversation about reproductive health and human sexuality needs to be more open, informed and developmentally appropriate for young adults. We will work toward several outcomes including:
1. Decreased rates of teen pregnancies and STIs;
2. Decreased incidents of sexual coercion or bullying based on sexual preference;
3. Decreased risk-taking behavior by normalizing healthy sexual health conversations
4. Increased proper condom usage;
5. Increased awareness of local health and mental health resources; and
6. Increase average age of onset of sexual activity.
We are excited to announce that we recently purchased the Love Bus! We are currently focused on raising $5,000.00 to get our soon-to-be-designed logo put on the bus. Can you help us reach our goal?
Based on a successful public health model in Sweden, The Love Bus will present information and resources to young adults, utilizing a modified bus to transport peer mentors to college campuses, beaches, local concerts, festivals and other public spaces in West Michigan that are easily accessible for students of all economic levels.
Under the supervision of a registered nurse with more than 27 years of nursing experience, The Love Bus will use peer mentors to engage and educate students through conversation and the distribution of printed safe-sex materials and condoms. All information will be presented in a manner that is informative and non-threatening.
The Love Bus was started in 2009 by a West Michigan RN, who observed increasing numbers of teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) during her work at local clinics and schools. In talking with heterosexual and LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning) young adults, she found they lacked access to accurate, understandable information about reproduction, STIs, sexual coercion, or bullying related to their sexuality.
For many, the topic of sex was confusing, embarrassing or too taboo to talk about. As a result, many ended up making uninformed choices or allowed themselves to be taken advantage of in situations involving their sexuality. Faced with this information, she developed a plan to deliver information and create productive conversations about reproductive health based on a “love bus” model pioneered in Sweden and later replicated in Germany, Austria and other European countries.
She worked with advisers to set up the organization as a 501(C) 3 and funded all legal and other costs out of her own pocket. Today, The Love Bus is preparing to launch in the spring of 2016. The primary mission of The Love Bus is to educate young adults on how to navigate difficult conversations regarding sexual health to decrease risk taking behaviors and promote responsible sexual decisions.
The societal costs related to teen sexuality are staggering, particularly in Michigan. According to the 2013 Youth Behavior Risk Survey 38% of Michigan high school students have had sexual intercourse. Of those who are currently sexually active 61% used a condom at last intercourse.
In 2014 Michigan reported 32,108 positive cases of Chlamydia for those 24 and under. This age group accounts for 71% of all Chlamydia cases. Teen birth rates for women between the ages of 15 and 19 are steadily decreasing – approximately 21% from 2010-2013 – the cost to Michigan taxpayers is an estimated $283million annually.
More than anything, we believe the conversation about reproductive health and human sexuality needs to be more open, informed and developmentally appropriate for young adults. We will work toward several outcomes including:
1. Decreased rates of teen pregnancies and STIs;
2. Decreased incidents of sexual coercion or bullying based on sexual preference;
3. Decreased risk-taking behavior by normalizing healthy sexual health conversations
4. Increased proper condom usage;
5. Increased awareness of local health and mental health resources; and
6. Increase average age of onset of sexual activity.
We are excited to announce that we recently purchased the Love Bus! We are currently focused on raising $5,000.00 to get our soon-to-be-designed logo put on the bus. Can you help us reach our goal?
Organizer
Kathy Hunter
Organizer
Grand Rapids, MI
