January 2021: Issue 1
This newsletter was developed (in part) with federal funds from the Office of Population Affairs. For more information on the rules and regulations that apply to our programs, please visit
Wyoming Health Council contributes to health and well-being for all, where we grow, live, learn, work and play.
Wyoming Health Council
Year In Review
I think I speak for most of us when I say I just want 2020 to be over. It has been a year of turmoil for most of us personally and politically. Family Planning programs came under intense scrutiny, and many Planned Parenthood clinics closed or left our networks resulting in limited or no reproductive health services for persons seeking services. We didn't realize when our staff was attending the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association conference in D.C. in March, that the COVID-19 pandemic would result in no more travel, no more in-person conferences or meetings, and that our lives personally and professionally would be dictated by ZOOM.

Luckily, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Title X reproductive services continued to be labeled as "essential healthcare" by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Population Affairs. And while our Wyoming Title X Clinics experienced a decrease in client visits due to the shutdown and health concerns related to the pandemic, our network of clinics still provided 9,982 total visits during January-November 2020 (a 21% decrease in comparing the same time period in 2019). 
 
As always, the Title X providers continued to serve the most vulnerable target populations to include percentages of client visits: 

Adolescents made up 22% of clients served;
Low-income individuals receiving no cost services accounted for 50% of clients served; and,
An additional 31% individuals served received discounted services
 
Despite shutdowns, staffing shortages and other obstacles, the clinics responded by providing services curbside, by telephone calls, by mailing supplies and by still having in-person visits. This shows the commitment our clinics' staff have to providing reproductive healthcare to the people of Wyoming.
 
This year Wyoming Health Council increased our Education and Outreach efforts through the creation and dissemination of this newsletter; by increasing our social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter; by advertising our clinic services in the Oil City News and Capital City News outlets; and by totally revamping our website. web
 
Please join us in welcoming 2021! May all of our lives be filled with hope, resilience, and meaning as we refocus on the reproductive health care needs of our citizens and move forward with our lives.
 

Executive Director
Rob Johnston
I'm not crying, you're crying....

Google-Year in Search 2020
This is what some of our clients had to say about our Title X clinics in 2020....
"All of the staff is super friendly and guides you through everything, along with the easy payments. They're great and have saved my a** a few times!"
-Title X Client

"The staff made me feel really safe and not like I was doing something wrong"
-Title X Client
Past, Present and Future
Read on....
Black Lives Matter
Black Mommas Matter

In 2020 Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, joined the endless list of black and brown people murdered in the United States. Their senseless deaths sparked outrage and protests around the world. These protests and the peoples cry, “Black Lives Matter,” renewed advocacy and conversation about the systematic racism that dominates our society and its institutions. 

For black women, the conversation focused on the social and racial inequities that often manifest themselves in their sexual and reproductive health care. Black women are more than three times as likely to experience a pregnancy related death as white women and are often more likely to be uninsured or face financial barriers to obtaining medical care.

History is being made this year with the election of Kamala Harris, the first female, first black and first South Asian Vice President of the United States. And a record number of Black women, at least 26, won election or reelection to Congress.

While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last. Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities. And to the children of our country, regardless of your gender, our country has sent you a clear message; dream with ambition. Lead with conviction. See yourselves in a way that others may not, simply because they have never seen it before. But know that we will applaud you every step of the way." Kamala Harris

LGBTQ+

LGBTQ+ individuals have faced many issues in 2020, including "limited access to community support and counseling and, in some cases, quarantining with unsupportive family members" during the COVID-19 pandemic. The US saw transgendered persons denied the ability to openly serve their country or turned away from homeless shelters, and federally funded adoption agencies allowed to reject same-sex couples wanting to adopt.

LGBTQ community didn't let COVID stop the celebration though, with many communities holding PRIDE in June online or with drive through parades. The Trevor Project and the It Gets Better Project reached out to help the community battle suicide. And we all binge watched many LGBTQ inclusive films and shows throughout quarantine, which helped with recognition and inclusion.

Positive steps forward also came in June when the Supreme Court ruled that the Civil Rights Act protects LGBTQ employees from discrimination and
more opportunities for change came with the Election in November, with over 220 LGBTQ candidates celebrating election victories!
Let us move forward this new year with the inspirational words of the champions who blazed the trail before us and left us too soon in 2020.
WYOMING HEALTH COUNCIL
400 East First St, Suite 313
Casper, WY 82601

Call Us: (307) 439-2033