Youth of Color Initiative RFP 

Due July 8, 2010. Download the application.

June 14, 2010

Dear Community Leader:

Advocates for Youth is pleased to announce an exciting opportunity for community-based, youth-serving organizations and institutions working in communities of color. Advocates for Youth is a national organization dedicated to creating programs and advocating for policies that help young people make informed and responsible decisions about their reproductive and sexual health. Advocates provides information, training, and strategic assistance to youth-serving organizations, policy makers, youth activists, and the media in the United States and in the developing countries.

Almost half of all new sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the United States occur in young people under age 25. Additionally, at the end of 2006, in 45 states with reporting, almost 46,000 young people ages 13-24 were living with HIV, comprising about sixteen percent of all HIV infections. But experts believe young people may suffer from up to 30 percent of all cases of HIV in the United States. Moreover, youth of color, in particular young African American/black and Latina/Hispanic women, are disproportionately affected by high rates of HIV and other STIs in our communities. To prevent HIV/STI infection among our youth most at risk, Advocates for Youth established a Youth of Color Initiative.  Since 1998, Advocates has partnered with the NAACP, National Council of La Raza, National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, National Organization of Concerned Black Men, and Black Entertainment Television (BET) to mobilize our communities to get actively involved in the fight against HIV and AIDS for young African American/black and Latina/Hispanic women. Last year alone, Advocates partnered with over 400 national and community-based organizations as part of this initiative.  

Through the Youth of Color Initiative, your organization may receive strategic capacity building assistance, including publications and materials; written and electronic correspondence; telephone consultations; on-site training; and seed grants in the amount of $8,000 to implement HIV/STI and teen pregnancy prevention projects, made possible through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Adolescent and School Health.  Services offered through this initiative are tailored to fit the needs of your organization.

Please see the attached materials for more information about this opportunity, including eligibility and criteria for selection. The application form and/or proposal are due by July 8, 2010, 5:00 p.m. EDT. Please e-mail, mail or fax applications to Urooj Arshad, Program Manager, Youth of Color Initiative, Advocates for Youth, 2000 M Street, NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20036. Fax: (202) 419-1448. E-mail: urooj@advocatesforyouth.org

Working together, we believe that we can strengthen efforts to prevent HIV infection among young African American/black and Latina/Hispanic women. We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with your organization to broaden and increase the positive impact we ALL can achieve in the lives of our youth. If you need further information or have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at (202) 419-3420 or at urooj@advocatesforyouth.org
 
Sincerely,
Urooj Arshad
Associate Director
Racial/Ethnic Disparities and Social Justice

Due July 8, 2010. Download the application. 

Almost half of all new STI infections in the United States occur in young people under age 25. Additionally, at the end of 2006, in 45 states with reporting, almost 46,000 young people ages 13-24 were living with HIV, comprising about sixteen percent of all HIV infections. But experts believe young people may suffer from up to 30 percent of all cases of HIV in the United States. Moreover, youth of color, especially young women, are disproportionately affected by HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). To prevent HIV/STI infection among youth most at risk, Advocates for Youth established a Youth of Color Initiative. Over the past few years, Advocates has partnered with the NAACP, National Council of La Raza, National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, National Organization of Concerned Black Men, and Black Entertainment Television (BET), among others to mobilize communities to get involved in the fight against HIV and AIDS on behalf of young African Americans, Latinos, Asian Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans.

Technical Assistance and Training

Through Advocates' Youth of Color Initiative, staff from organizations serving youth of color may receive strategic technical assistance via e-mail, telephone, mail, and face-to-face meetings. In addition, Advocates provides tailored training and workshops for youth-serving professionals, youth peer educators, and young people. Seed grants are also available to help implement HIV/STI and teen pregnancy prevention projects. Tailored technical assistance and training is offered on the following topics:

• Cultural competence
• Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth
• Parent-child communication about sexuality issues
• Peer education
• Science-based sex education and HIV, STI, and teen pregnancy prevention programming (including life skills)
• Youth-adult partnerships
• Youth-friendly services

Partners

Advocates provides technical assistance, training, and/or seed grants to youth of color-serving organizations around the nation to strengthen their HIV programming for youth of color.  Below are select partner organizations:

• AIDS Action of North Alabama (Huntsville, AL)
• Albuquerque Area Indian Health Board (Albuquerque, NM)
• AID Atlanta (Atlanta, GA)
• Communities in Schools (Thomasville, NC)
• ComServ Inc. (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
• Focus On Flagler Youth Coalition, Inc (Bunnell, FL)
  
• Girls Inc. of Lynn (Lynn, MA)
• HOTGIRLS (Atlanta, GA)
• Institute of Women and Ethnic Studies (New Orleans, LA)
  
• Love Heals (NY, NY)
• Make the Road New York (Brooklyn, NY)
• Taller Salud (Loiza, Puerto Rico)
  
• THE POINT Community Development Corporation (Bronx, NY)
• Uplift School Health Center (Chicago, IL)
• Youth Empowerment Mission (Brooklyn, NY)
  

Contact

Urooj Arshad, Associate Director, Racial/Ethnic Disparities and Social Justice
P: 202.419.3420
F: 202.419.1448
Advocates for Youth
2000 M Street NW, Suite 750
Washington, DC 20036 USA