Need birth control?

A Step Ahead covers all preventative birth control methods — at no cost to you.

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GET STARTED (865) 657-8372

GET STARTED (865) 657-8372

Removing barriers to birth control access across East Tennessee

For thousands of people in our region, cost, transportation, and limited access healthcare options make it difficult to access basic reproductive healthcare. A Step Ahead works to close those gaps by connecting individuals with free birth control, reproductive healthcare, and trusted information so they can make informed decisions about their futures.

Did you know?

Access means more than covering birth control. The cost doesn’t stop at the prescription.
Appointments, lab work, and insertion or removal fees can create barriers—even when someone can afford the birth control itself. We help cover eligible costs so the whole visit is within reach.

Well-care is part of what we support.
Through our clinic partners, we cover associated preventive care, including well-care visits and appropriate Pap smears, STI testing, and pregnancy testing. Your provider helps determine which services you need.

You don’t have to commit to a method to receive support.
Questions are welcome, and the decision is yours. If you change your mind about getting an IUD or implant, we still cover the appointment and necessary testing.

Understand your options. Know what’s covered.

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What We Do

A Step Ahead Foundation of East Tennessee's mission is to remove barriers to contraception through education, outreach, and access to birth control.
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Every person has a right to achieve their big goals — at work, at home, in their relationship — but sometimes accessing birth control is harder than it needs to be. We make it easier for you to step ahead and stay ahead.

Our Impact

Who We Serve

Simply put: we believe contraception should be available to anyone who needs it. 

That’s why we offer FREE preventative birth control services to people living or going to school in our 16-county service area, which spans East Tennessee (Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Hamblen, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Monroe, Morgan, Roane, Scott, Sevier, and Union County).

Our Mission

Need a ride or assistance with transportation to your appointment?

We take care of that too.

Education

Providing factual information that increases knowledge and awareness ​of preventative birth control.

Outreach

Working with partners, volunteers and leaders to share resources and make information about reproductive health ​more accessible.

Access

Connecting individuals to free preventative contraception on ​their terms.

  • "I chose a long term reversible method of birth control because I have goals in my life. I want to finish college and I want to get a better education and find a stable job before I have children."

    —Destiny, client

  • "I'm a single mother of an 18-year-old son, I'm 33 years old, which means I had my son when I was 15. I didn't know about birth control and different birth control options, which is part of the reason I support A Step Ahead Foundation. They provide education and birth control options for young women so they can make better decisions for their lives and put themselves in a better position to have a good life and children when they are ready."

    —Summer Owens, advocate

  • "I choose to use birth control because I recently had a child and I'm not trying to have anymore anytime soon. I'm trying to go to school and have a career in my life. I'm trying to be able to provide for the one that I do have and I'm not trying to add anymore right now."

    —Moriah, client

Your support matters.

Our work is powered by the generosity of donors. Support the mission of A Step Ahead Foundation of East Tennessee today, and make it easier for people across our service area to access vital reproductive health resources.

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