Philadelphia's Condom Giveaway Hits One-Million Mark
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A four-month old program to distribute free condoms in Philadelphia has passed a milestone of sorts.
The city health department's program, dubbed "Freedom Condom" (see previous story), has given out one million condoms to city residents since it began in early April.
"We're right on track to hit 2.5 million condoms by the end of this year," says program manager Drew Del Los Reyes.
Parental consent is not needed to receive the condoms, but Del Los Reyes disputes any criticism that the effort promotes underage sex.
"We know that young people are having sex, and really what we're trying to do is make sure that they use condoms when they have sex to avoid any of these infections," he tells KYW Newsradio. "Young people are getting STDs and HIV at an alarming rate," he adds.
More information on distributions sites and the option to order the free condoms online is at the program's web site, takecontrolphilly.org.
Reported by KYW City Hall bureau chief Mike Dunn
