Texas: Harlandale Youth Get Info on STDs

"Sexually Transmitted Diseases and San Antonio Teens" was the theme of a series of meetings recently presented by Harlandale's Project WORTH (Working on Real Teen Health) through a partnership with the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District.

School district officials said representatives of the Health District suggested offering the meetings to parents as well as students. Gina Maranto-Castro, Safe & Drug Free/Health & PE/CATCH (Coordinated Approach to Child Health) facilitator, said the meetings take place in two parts. First, the information is presented to parents, then, the following day, to students.

Meetings were held last month at Harlandale and McCollum high schools and at Tejeda Academy, the district's alternative learning facility. The program will also target the school districts of San Antonio, North East and South San Antonio.

"Across the city, we're seeing an increase of STDs among high school students," said Mario Martinez, project WORTH coordinator. Many students, he said, do not understand the diseases and how they are transmitted. "We're hearing that a lot of teens are engaging in oral sex because they want to avoid pregnancy. Some of them think oral sex won't get them infected, but it will."

Parental involvement is essential, Martinez said, because parents are the best source for communicating with students about STDs.

Back to other news for April 6, 2006