ST. LOUIS — Emergency contraceptive kits are now free to Missourians in the City of St. Louis.
It's all thanks to a partnership between the Department of Health and Missouri Family Health Council, according to Suzanne Alexander, Communicable Disease Bureau Chief for the City of St. Louis Department of Health.
"We need to have everything at our disposal that we can to help people decide when they want to have their families and to be able to make the best choices for themselves," she said.
It's another resource for St. Louisans. Starting Monday, Alexander said anyone can go to the Department of Health and grab a free emergency contraceptive kit.
"We're bringing on another form of birth control for the residents of St. Louis. It is a form of Plan B called 'Julie,'" she said.
'Julie' is a brand name for the medication Levonorgestrel.
According to Alexander, thanks to a partnership with the Missouri Family Health Council, the City of St. Louis Department of Health is participating in a new project called, 'Free EC,' which was launched earlier this year.
"We're one of 60 partners across the state who they have provided with emergency contraceptive kits," she said.
Alexander said not only will the kit come with a two-pack of Plan B, but it will also have other forms of birth control and even resources.
"We're also, here in the city, going to attach a brochure called, 'Get You Get Yourself Tested,' which has a list of places and resources where residents can go to get tested for STIs, HIV," she said.
According to Alexander, the city is seeing more cases of those diseases, which is why this new project is vital for the community.
"It's a matter of access. A lot of our residents are lower income or don't have ready access to medical resources," she said.
It's access, Alexander said, the city is striving to continue to give.
"We hope to continue to be able to provide all of the resources that folks need to make good reproductive health choices," she said.
Kits can be picked up, no questions asked, at the Department of Health's Communicable Disease Bureau in Room 4027 between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, except on holidays.
Then, starting Jan. 2, 2024, kits will be available at the department's Health Stop Testing and Referral Center Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
You can also request a contraceptive kit by mail here.