PORTLAND, Maine - Sexually transmitted diseases are a significant health challenge in the U.S. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, nearly 20 million new infections are reported every year - and half of them are in people under age 25.
Planned Parenthood of Northern New England recently took its efforts to the front lines to educate young adults in Maine about the importance of testing - and preventing - STDs.
For those who are sexually active, rule No. 1 for preventing a sexually transmitted disease is to use a condom. Rule No. 2, as Aimee Martin of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England learned, is that for the condom to be effective, it has to be stored properly.
"So we ruined about 200 condoms by leaving them in our car overnight," Martin says. "So don't let them freeze. Condoms can't be frozen. Condoms can't be in wallets." It's not that they can't be in wallets for an evening, but keeping condoms there long-term can cause damage due to friction.
Planned Parenthood collected about 200 pristine condoms to spread awareness about sexually transmitted diseases. But, let's face it - the topic of STDs is not one most people are anxious to talk, or even think, about.
So how do you get the message out to the people who need it most? Go to where they are, says Planned Parenthood intern Meghan Giles. And on a Thursday night, Gritty's Brew Pub in Portland's Old Port is a pretty good bet.
"College kids - they tend to think they're invincible, they tend to think they are above it all," Giles says. "And so we want to make sure that college kids understand that you need to get yourself tested, and what better way than to go to the places where college kids frequent, such as bars?"
Giles herself is a senior at the University of Southern Maine. She helped organize what Planned Parenthood is calling a "Condom Crawl." About a dozen volunteers in bright pink and purple shirts meet up at Gritty's to grab buttons, stickers and condoms.
These are the ice breakers that volunteers like Dejouvon Cawthon will use to talk about STDs as she hits other Old Port bars.
"Hi guys! It's 'Get Yourself Tested' month. Free condoms!" The condoms elicit laughs and jokes from a group of young men at Pearl Tap House. Cawthon is light-hearted but delivers her message. "Half of all people get STDs once in their lifetime. Be smart guys!"
According to the Maine Center for Disease Control, adults in their 20's account for more than half of the diagnosed cases of gonorrhea in the state, and more than 60 percent of the cases of chlamydia. Nicole Clegg, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, says part of the problem is that many people don't know they have an STD.
"Chlamydia is silent," she says. "It has very few symptoms for an STD. There can be very serious consequences for women, including infertility. So making sure they get tested and treated is really important."
Young bar-goers in Portland seem receptive to the message delivered by volunteers like Nina Sasser - which in some instances, they receive multiple times over the course of the evening. "Hello! You already got condoms?" Sasser says at one venue. "Do you want any more? Did you know April is Get Yourself Tested month?"
Twenty-seven year old Leah Colby says young adults should be more aware about STDs, but it's not an easy subject to bring up. "Who wants to talk about the realities of life when you're trying to have an emotional intimate connection with someone maybe you just met, first of all," she says.
Twenty-six year old Laura Kroll, on the other hand, says she thinks it's easier to protect against STDs in the beginning of a relationship. "I guess the first time you sleep with someone, it's always like, 'Do you have a condom?' That's normal. "
But broaching the subject as a relationship progresses is another story. If efforts like Planned Parenthood's are a success, the subject of STDs may become more of a norm, along with testing and prevention.
