Orangeburg native heads $4M effort to aid access to sexual, reproductive health services

“By bringing together key stakeholders, Connect for Success not only aims to enhance and expand the services and supports available to students but also to create a sustainable network of support that will continue to grow and evolve beyond the life of this initiative,” said Orangeburg native Dr. Martinique Free, project director of Connect for Success. “We are thrilled to partner with our grantees to identify and amplify the most effective strategies for addressing and meeting students’ fundamental sexual and reproductive health needs.” 

Through the initiative, IWPR will provide funding to up to 11 grantees with existing programs dedicated to offering SRH care and support to community college students, particularly those from underserved backgrounds. The selected grantees will work closely with IWPR over a two-year period, during which IWPR will document, analyze, and synthesize lessons learned and promising practices.

 ”Community college students, especially those representing historically marginalized communities, often face significant barriers to accessing the sexual and reproductive health care and resources they need,” said Dr. Jamila K. Taylor, president and CEO of IWPR. “Through Connect for Success, we are working to break down these barriers, ensuring that all students have the support they need to thrive academically and personally in order to succeed in life.” 

 In addition to funding, Connect for Success will support convenings of initiative grantees, including program implementers, community partners, policymakers, college administrators, faculty, staff, and students. These gatherings will serve as opportunities to share knowledge, build relationships, and identify strategies to further bolster SRH services and supports for community college students. The first such session took place in Washington, in July 2024. Future meetings will be held at sites across the country. 

“We are excited for this opportunity to expand our support of community college students in Tulsa. With this grant, not only are we able to provide more tangible resources and increase access on campus, we also can further center student voices by hosting focus groups to directly listen to what they need when it comes to sexual and reproductive health,” said Irissa Baxter-Luper of the Take Control Initiative in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

 “I am more empowered than ever to expand our sexual and reproductive health work in my community and beyond. The number of connections and ideas for expansion that we now have as part of IWPR’s Connect for Success initiative is impressive. With this new funding source, we’ve been brainstorming nonstop about new ways to turn our environment into a community,” said Sriya Srinivason of Solano Community College in Solano, California. 

 For more information about Connect for Success and the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, please visit https://iwpr.org/connect-for-success or contact Free at free@iwpr.org.