Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast: New Orleans Community Outreach and Tulane Campus Involvement
By Katie Craig
During my 2023 fall semester, I worked with Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast (PPGC) as a Public Affairs Intern at their New Orleans location. As a member of their public affairs department, my responsibilities included public outreach and enhancing the local Planned Parenthood presence. I focused on the New Orleans and Tulane communities by attending local events, tabling during the voter registration season, and speaking at on-campus meetings. I began my position with Planned Parenthood in May of 2023; most of my work this fall continued with my summer agenda. I focused primarily on researching effective ways to get New Orleans and local community members aware of and involved with PPGC, as Planned Parenthood has numerous resources, from general health checkups to sexual health education courses. As a part of my community work, I researched local festivals, health fairs, and events that Planned Parenthood should attend. When I would table at these events as a PPGC ambassador, I would hand out safe sex materials, information on how to get involved with PPGC, and PPGC merch. Through tabling and contacting different local organizations about possible partnerships, my communication skills grew and advanced. Also, I have expanded my knowledge of all the health services Planned Parenthood offers. I have learned how their services are very accessible, affordable, and comprehensive for all individuals to utilize. With Louisiana having one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country, I believe it is essential for residents to know about the vast services Planned Parenthood offers. The benefits of their services include both information on accessing abortion care and prenatal/pregnancy care. Planned Parenthood can help provide unplanned or planned pregnant individuals with the specific services they are in need of. Advocating for the integration of PPGC within New Orleans helped me become more familiar with Planned Parenthood’s resources and demonstrate to community members why they should become more involved with PPGC.
Further into the fall semester, I established a GroupMe for the newly developed Tulane Planned Parenthood Generation Action organization. Within this organization, I focused on getting students registered to vote at the beginning of the semester. This included brainstorming ideas for tabling events in August and planning out the resources and timing which allowed me to get creative and discuss with students what they want to participate in. While tabling for voter registration, I collected student emails and contact details to begin a GroupMe chat. I observed that many Tulane students were eager to get involved with Planned Parenthood and were excited to hear about the new organization. While speaking with the Student United for Reproductive Justice club during one of their weekly meetings, I discussed Planned Parenthood’s resources, sexual education courses, volunteer opportunities, and advocacy work, and was delighted with the number of students interested in getting involved with the upcoming PPGen. Action group and the students’ positive attitude toward Planned Parenthood. After speaking at SURJ, I collected several more students’ contact information to add to our GroupMe. I look forward to continuing to establish the PPGen. Action organization next semester as students seem enthusiastic to learn more and get involved. As a Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast intern, I have extended my research and innovative thinking tools, and I am excited to continue my work in the fight for reproductive justice and healthcare in the spring!