'Shoestring budget' not good enough for filling health-care gap, says Planned Parenthood

Uptake onservices atPlanned Parenthood has soared over the last few years, the group says, but itsgrant from the provincial government hasn't budged.

"Our services are just needed more, every year we're seeing thousands of more people," says Nikki Baldwin, who is the executive director of N.L.'sPlanned Parenthood,located in St. John's.

The $64,000 annual grant began about a decade ago, Baldwin said, but the organization is asking for an extra $30,000.

"We need money," she said.

"We have the people, we have people putting in overtime, doing everything they can and we're just running on a shoestring budget."

Planned Parenthood'soverall annual budget is about $195,000, Baldwin said, and the boost to the grant would help ensure a third full-time staff member can stay put, and provide a modest cost of living wage increase to the other staff, who haven't received one since 1991.

She said, every year, Planned Parenthood:

• Sees between 3,000 and 4,000 patients.
• Fields 12,000 calls.
• Does more than 100 presentations in schools, community groups.

Baldwin saidthe education part of its services focus onharm reduction, topics like condom use and clean needles andthat will be the first casualty of the cuts if they can't find a way to get more money.

"The cuts always come first from our education, because that's the way it has to be. We can't cut back on our sexual health clinics," she said.

"And then it turns us from being a preventative harm reduction place to just trying to keep up with the need. So it's really hard that way."

Alleviating some of the crunch in health care

Baldwin said Planned Parenthood helps an already overloaded systemby offering papand sexually transmitted diseases (STD) tests, among other services. She said they have a lot of clients who don't have a family doctor.

"We are filling in the gaps maybe they don't understand the demand that we have," said Baldwin.

"But we definitely think it's time for the people of [Newfoundland and Labrador] to ask what the government's doing for community services. We're definitely not the only community service not getting the amount of funding that we need."

Cold shoulder or bad timing?

Health Minister John Haggie said he last met with Planned Parenthood staff 18 months ago about a new space for the group, but that he "hasn't had any new requests from Planned Parenthood" since then.

Baldwin has another take on it, and issued a media release stating, "We just received a reply to our provincial core funding grant proposal and have received no increase in funding it is clear that no one even looked at the proposal we spent many hours and days on."

Haggie acknowledges the organization helps reach people that a government-run health agency might not.

"They do things that are very difficult for provincial government to do without almost putting a barrier there and scaring people off," he said.

"Ithink [Planned Parenthood]would be helpful everywhere I'm happy to have those discussions," Haggie said, adding that those discussions would happen after the election.

For now, Baldwin said the organization will try and raise some of the needed funds on its own, but it can't count on getting the grant increase.

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