|
March 2006 Monthly Monitor
Advocates for Youth's Youth of Color Initiative
Feature: Faith & Religion
Except for schools, religious institutions serve more teens than any other community agency, and they are the only ones specifically empowered to do so from moral perspectives.[1] Additionally, more than 60 percent of American youth spend at least one hour per week in activities in a church, synagogue, or other community of faith.[2]
Some organizations work to address sexuality and reproductive health issues within religious institutions. Two such organizations are described here:
Balm In Gilead is a not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization with an international mission to stop the spread of HIV and AIDS throughout the African diaspora by building the capacity of faith communities to provide HIV and AIDS education and support networks for all people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS. Balm In Gilead's pioneering achievements have enabled thousands of faith communities to become leaders in preventing HIV. Through Balm In Gilead, faith communities provide comprehensive educational programs and offer compassionate support to encourage HIV-infected people to seek and maintain treatment.
Balm In Gilead sponsors the Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS. This year’s event occurred from March 5-11, 2006. This national HIV and AIDS awareness campaign seeks to engage black congregations to support, encourage, and empower African Americans, Africans and all people of the African diaspora to act to stop the spread of HIV and AIDS in black communities worldwide.
For more information on Balm In Gilead, please visit www.balmingilead.org.
Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing is an ecumenical, interfaith organization that advocates for sexual health, education, and justice in faith communities and in society. The primary objectives of the Religious Institute include:
- Developing and supporting a network of clergy, religious educators, theologians, ethicists, and other religious leaders committed to sexual justice;
- Building the capacity of religious institutions and clergy to offer sex education within the context of their own faith tradition;
- Helping congregations become sexually healthy communities of faith; and
Educating the public and policy makers about the Institute’s vision of sexual morality, justice, and healing.
For more information on Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing, please visit www.religiousinstitute.org
References:
- Haffner D. Reaching out to Faith Communities: a Guide for Sexual and Reproductive Health Organization. New York: Religious Institute, 2006.
- Benson PL, Scales PC, Roehlkepartain EC. A Fragile Foundation: The State of Developmental Assets among American Youth. Minneapolis, MN: Search Institute, 1999.
Capacity Building & Professional Development
2006 National Latina Health Summit will be held September 6-8 in Washington, DC. It will offer an historic gathering of influential people and decision makers from public and private arenas, including health care providers. The Summit will offer a vivid snapshot of the state of health among U.S. Latinas and will demonstrate cooperation between corporate America, the government, and national nongovernmental organizations.
For more information, please visit www.nlhn.net.
National Black Religious Summit 10 on Sexuality will be held from July 11 thru July 14, 2006, in Washington, DC. Sponsored by The National Black Church Initiative, the Summit will offer dialogue on religion and sexuality; teen pregnancy prevention; sacred relationships; faith-based sex education; sexual ethics; sexual and domestic violence; strengthening families; HIV, AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections; reproductive health; and sexual literacy. For more information, contact the Initiative by phone at 202.628.7700 or e-mail to bciinfo@rcrc.org or via the Web site at http://www.rcrc.org/get_involved/black_church_initiative/index.htm.
ETR Associates’ Summer Training Institute will be held in San Jose, California, July 26-29, 2006. The Institute will offer an opportunity to acquire in-depth, skills based training in four popular prevention programs for teens: Reducing the Risk (RTR); Becoming a Responsible Teen (BART); Keepin' It REAL; and TimeWise. Experts in the field and curriculum developers will deliver the presentations and training. Educators who have used these curricula will share their experiences in panel discussions.
For more information about ETR's Summer Training Institute or to register, visit http://www.etr.org/traininginstit/ If you have questions about the Institute, please contact Nicole Jayne by e-mail to summerinstitute@etr.org or phone at 800.966.6320.
Funding Opportunities
Medica Foundation - Behavioral Health and Racial Disparities Grant Program: The Medica Foundation funds community-based programs and initiatives that can provide sustainable, measurable improvement in the availability, access, and quality of health care. The Foundation has two funding priorities for 2006:
- Behavioral Health: Filling the Gaps—a program that develops capabilities or changes processes related to behavioral health care service interventions, accessibility, and sustainability; and
- Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care and/or Enhancing Cultural Competency—a program that identifies gaps in health care for diverse populations and develops programming related to the identified racial and ethnic disparities.
Visit http://www.healthinschools.org
HIVlandscape.net is part of a market research firm serving the health care community. The firm is conducting a survey to learn more about those who serve communities affected by HIV and AIDS.
For more information, contact Dawn Stearns at 866.402.4440.The survey should take no longer than 10 minutes, and participants will receive $40.00.
Announcements
National HIV Testing Day (NHTD) is a community mobilization and social marketing campaign from the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA-US). The campaign’s goal is to encourage individuals to take advantage of voluntary HIV counseling, testing (VCT) and prevention services, and to get medical care if they test HIV-positive. NHTD is held each year on June 27 and this year is NHTD’s 10th anniversary. For more information please visit http://www.napwa.org/hivtestday.html.
National HIV Testing Day Skills Building Institute will strengthen the capacity of organizations and individuals to successfully promote NHTD. The theme of this year’s institute is “Mobilizing communities to access HIV testing, prevention and care: a positive perspective.” The institute will be held March 31-April 1, Hilton Hotel, Silver Spring, MD (Greater Washington Metropolitan Area). For more information please visit www.napwa.org.
"Abstain or Use Your Brain"
 March 10th marked the first National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. In honor of National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, Advocates launched the first part of a two-part national education campaign to encourage young women of color to actively avoid and/or reduce their risk for HIV. Advocates also released two new issue briefs addressing the disproportionate effect of HIV on young Latina and African American women.
To read the press release, please visit:
http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/news/press/031006.htm
To learn more about HIV in communities of color, please visit: http://www.mysistahs.org/health/HIV/index.htm
To read the new publications, please visit:
Resources
For Resources on GLBTQ Youth of Color, please check out the following:
You can help Advocates for Youth with a contribution today. To donate, visit http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/about/donatetoday.htm
Read previous issues from the Archive of e-News Updates >>
|
Send this page to a friend