Wednesday night, Safe Passages, a local agency that offered emergency services for victims of domestic violence and abuse in Chester, Lancaster and York Counties, closed its doors. York county residents spend over $5.4 million each year on teen childbearing-related costs- money that could be spent funding programs domestic violence and emergency shelters (Chester and Lancaster counties each spends over $2 million).

The astronomical dollar amount that we spend on the consequences of teen child-bearing may be one reason to rethink our state strategy, but moreover, it is a much larger problem. We have been dealing with the end result and not looking at the source of the problem. By funding preventive methods of teen pregnancy and STI transmissions, we could save this state millions of dollars, and use that money to fund other needy causes.

Click here to read more about the Safe Passages closing

Safe Passages may be the latest causality in the fight to protect South Carolina’s health. But it will not be the last if we don’t come together and make a statement. Tell your legislators that you have had enough closing of essential services, enough of the health care workers being put out of work, and enough of the women and children who now have no place to go for help. Tell them that you have had enough.

This week FLEW by. We were so busy, and have racked up the numbers to prove it!

First, I want to say a huge thank you to Tiphany Davis and the ladies of Allen University’s Zeta Phi Beta Sorority. They attended the 2010 Harambee Festival held by Benedict College last Saturday and told people about the Virtual March. Not only did they create a ton of buzz, they signed up over 300 marchers! WAY TO GO LADIES!

On Tuesday, Kelly and I split up- she went to Florence and presented the Virtual March at the National Women’s & Girl’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day at Francis Marion University. The event was very successful and all the participants left seeming really excited and eager to start spreading the buzz.

While Kelly was in Florence, I went to USC for Project Condom- Season 3. As the Daily Gamecock reported, “The goal of Project Condom is to promote safe sexual activity on campus. According to a recent University of South Carolina survey, 74 percent of University students reported they were sexually active last year, but only half of them reported using condoms when engaging in sexual activity.”

This was such a great night- it highlighted the importance of condom use in a fun, creative way. Tell Them was on hand to talk about the Virtual March, as well as sign up marchers.. Thanks to our AMAZING volunteers (Katie MacMillen, Caroline Atwood, Kate Jaffe, Kathleen Kemp, Lauren Wilson), we added nearly 200 marchers to our ranks. Thank you ladies! And congratulations to Ryan Wilson and everyone at USC- the show was great!

On Thursday, it was up to Lake Wylie, where Kelly met with Kathy Cantrell and Safe Passages where she presented the Virtual March. Kelly also met with the Teen Health Center in York where they are making an incredible difference in the community.

All in all, we have not only reached our weekly goal of 2,000 Virtual Marchers, but have surpassed it by a few hundred. We’re so energized by the excitement and support we’re getting- and things are going to get even more interesting. Keep checking back- we’ve got some great surprises coming your way in the next few weeks!