Jay is pleased to announce our partnership with Causewave Community Partners to promote the Unintended Pregnancy Reduction Initiative. The initiative is designed to spread the truth about birth control options for Rochester area teens and twenty-somethings: there are more than a dozen options and they’re all free in New York State. The message, “Stay True to You,” is one of empowerment for young women, an essential reminder that no matter what choice you make, knowledge is power.
We couldn’t be prouder to be a part of this community effort. For more details, see Causewave’s press release below.
Causewave Community Partners, local groups launch campaign to reduce unintended pregnancy in Rochester
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Causewave Community Partners and University of Rochester Medical Center’s Hoekelman Center, along with eleven other local health groups, launched a new community campaign aimed at reducing unintended pregnancy in Rochester. The new mass media campaign uses bold, empowering messages to compel young women to go to a new website – StayTrue2u.org – and make informed decisions about their reproductive health.
The number of babies born to teen mothers in Rochester has declined 61% since 2008. In fact, local teen birth rates fell to historic lows in 2016, according to data recently analyzed by the Monroe County Department of Public Health. Despite this progress, Rochester still has one of the highest rates of unintended pregnancy in New York State, and our community’s averages are still above national numbers.
The Center for Disease Control has identified teen pregnancy prevention as a “winnable public health battle,” and that “with additional effort and support for evidence-based, cost-effective strategies that we can implement now, we will have a significant impact on our nation’s health.” Delaying pregnancy can create healthier families and communities. Early pregnancy can be an enormous stress on young people; starting a family as a teen can lock parents into a cycle of poverty, make it harder to finish their education and start a career. It can put the child at risk for health and behavioral problems and
cause significant issues in school.
To tackle this major health improvement opportunity, Causewave Community Partners and the Hoekelman Center teamed with several local organizations, including Action for a Better Community, Healthy Baby Network, Highland Family Planning, IBERO American Action League, Jordan Health, Metro Council for Teen Potential, Monroe County Department of Public Health, Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York, Rochester City School District, and the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative.
“Whenever we tackle an issue as complex and important as this one, we know it will take the work of many partners to achieve the impact we’re after,” said Todd Butler, President and CEO of Causewave Community Partners. “We’ve worked for nearly two years with local organizations and JAY to develop a strategy and messaging that will have an impact on young women. We know that by encouraging young women in our community to become more informed about all their birth control options, especially the most effective methods, we can have a healthier community.”
Rochester advertising agency, JAY donated time and talent totaling over $50,000 to develop the campaign’s advertising and social media presence. The advertising features bold colors encouraging young women that, “You’ve got more birth control options than you know. And they’re all free.”
“Jay is thrilled to partner with Causewave on this important community impact campaign,” said Lisa Kreienberg, Creative Director at JAY. “Our goal is to empower and educate young women on all of their birth control options in a simple, accessible, and intriguing manner. Through an integrated marketing effort, the message Stay True To You is an essential reminder that no matter what choice you make, knowledge is power.”
“There are a lot of birth control options–more than a dozen–which is more than most women know about. Our hope is that this campaign will spark conversations among young women and their friends, families, and health care providers about all their birth control options and help them to make an informed choice about the option that’s right for them. And since all birth control methods are free in New York State, the good news is, there’s no reason young women can’t get the birth control method of their choice,” says Jessica Coleman, Community Health Educator at Highland Family Planning, which provides reproductive health services to the Rochester community.
Nearly thirty Rochester-area media partners will contribute free space and time for the campaign through Causewave Community Partners. Campaign materials will start showing up across the community in the coming weeks. For more information on the campaign, go to StayTrue2u.org.
