Planned Parenthood Receives $1 Million to Provide Basic Health Services
MENLO PARK, Calif. – The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation today announced a $1,000,000 emergency grant to Planned Parenthood Federation of America to help its affiliate health centers provide counseling and essential health care services to women, families and displaced residents affected by Hurricane Katrina.
At no or reduced cost, Planned Parenthood is offering evacuees critical services, such as birth control supplies, medication to treat sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and prenatal care. Planned Parenthood is serving clients at health centers and is conducting outreach in areas that have received the greatest number of displaced residents.
“This grant from the Hewlett Foundation and donations from our private supporters will make it possible for Planned Parenthood to provide essential contraceptive and health care services to those who have been displaced by this devastating catastrophe,” said Karen Pearl, interim president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. “From our nearly 90 years of experience, Planned Parenthood knows the importance of providing urgently needed reproductive and primary health care services to help those who have been uprooted by disaster to get their lives back on track.”
“The Hewlett Foundation has been a longtime supporter of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and this emergency grant will provide critical aid to survivors,” said Hewlett Foundation President Paul Brest. “This funding will help ensure that the health care needs of tens of thousands of women and families are met.”
Many women who escaped the storm left behind medication and other items vital to their well-being. Planned Parenthood health centers are providing urgently-needed medical supplies and health care services, such as testing and treatment for STIs, cancer screenings and birth control methods. Reports also indicate the increasing importance of providing services to the increased number of rape victims in the aftermath of the hurricane, including medical treatment, counseling, emergency contraception and abortion services. Planned Parenthood’s efforts will allow women and families to focus on rebuilding their lives with the security of access to high-quality health care services.
Planned Parenthood’s primary focus is providing urgent care to those in need. Currently, the Planned Parenthood health centers in Baton Rouge, LA, Hattiesburg, MS, and Mobile, AL, are open; however, the organization has not yet been able to assess damage to its New Orleans sites. Planned Parenthood health centers throughout the Southeast are providing much-needed services to evacuees who have been moved to cities as far away as Houston, TX, Nashville, TN, and Tulsa, OK.
In addition to the generous grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Planned Parenthood has raised over $200,000 in online donations to provide services to those affected by Hurricane Katrina. The public can make donations to Planned Parenthood clinics serving evacuees from the hurricane-affected areas of the Gulf Coast at the following Web site: https://secure.ga3.org/02/pp_hurricane_katrina
About the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, www.hewlett.org, has been making grants since 1966 to help solve social and environmental problems at home and around the world. The foundation concentrates its resources on activities in education, environment, global development, performing arts, philanthropy, population, and makes grants to support disadvantaged communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. A full list of all the Hewlett Foundation’s grants can be found at www.hewlett.org/grants.
About Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Planned Parenthood Federation of America is the nation’s leading sexual and reproductive health care advocate and provider. The organization believes that everyone has the right to choose when or whether to have a child, and that every child should be wanted and loved. Planned Parenthood affiliates operate more than 850 health centers nationwide, providing medical services and sexuality education for millions of women, men, and teenagers each year. It also works with allies worldwide to ensure that all women and men have the right and the means to meet their sexual and reproductive health care needs.