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June 2007 Monthly Monitor
Advocates for Youth's Youth of Color Initiative
Feature: Cultural Competency
Youth who face prejudice and discrimination by virtue of their identity, life experience, or family circumstances disproportionately experience teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV. Such young people may include youth of color, those from low-income families, immigrants, and gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) youth. Research often focuses on the socioeconomic factors - such as poverty, family distress, and access to health care - which contribute to teenage sexual risks.[1] Little research, however, focuses on the effect on young people of discrimination based on their age, race/ethnicity, gender, class, and/or sexual orientation.[2]
Service providers who work with youth must understand the impact of prejudice and discrimination on vulnerable adolescents, assess and address their needs, and build on their assets. In prevention programming, it is essential to empower young participants by involving them in all aspects of designing and running programs for youth. It is equally essential to provide culturally appropriate interventions, with culturally competent adult and youth staff.
Following steps can be taken to make sure that programs are culturally competent in serving the needs of a diverse youth community:
- Understand the impact of prejudice and discrimination on young people.[3]
- The historical and cultural context of reproductive and sexual rights, especially for women of color and low-income women, is one of persistent inequality.
- Prejudice and discrimination have strongly negative impacts on the health of young people.
- Young people face barriers and obstacles in sexual and reproductive health programs.
- Teens who experience prejudice and discrimination may have less self-esteem and fewer resources and skills to meet the challenges that all teens face.
- Media strongly influence adolescents' self-perceptions and self-concept.
- Assess the needs and assets of youth in the community.[4]
- Assess the health status of youth and the accessibility of services.
- Assess the cultural appropriateness of services.
- Learn about the cultural and family background, health beliefs, and religious practices of each young person in the program.
- Assess the experience and knowledge of youth in the community.
- Empower youth and offer culturally competent programs in the community
- Support peer education and the leadership of youth.
- Create opportunities for youth to talk openly and frankly about racism, sexism, homophobia, class discrimination, and other forms of oppression.
- Replicate and adapt HIV/STI and pregnancy prevention programs that have been evaluated and shown to achieve positive outcomes for young women, youth of color, low-income youth, and/or GLBT youth.
- Ensure that prevention efforts are culturally specific.
For more information, please visit on these steps and how to implement them, please click here.
References
- Ozer EM, Brindis CD, Millstein SG, et al. America's Adolescents: Are They Healthy? San Francisco, CA: National Adolescent Health Information Center, School of Medicine, University of California, 1997.
- Moore KA, Miller BC, Glei D, et al. Adolescent Sex, Contraception, and Childbearing: a Review of Recent Research. Washington, DC: Child Trends, 1995.
- The three-step model presented in this paper is adapted from: Messina M. A Youth Leader's Guide to Building Cultural Competence.
 Washington, DC: Advocates for Youth, 1994.
- The assessment information presented here is largely drawn from: Brindis CD, Davis LD. Building Strong Foundations, Ensuring the Future. [Communities Responding to the Challenge of Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, v. 2] Washington, DC: Advocates for Youth, 1998.
Capacity Building & Professional Development
The Ryan White National Youth Conference Positive - Youth Institute will be featured at the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA) annual conference! Staying Alive 2007-Quality in Action is being held 23rd - 26th August 2007 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Positive Youth Institute participants will attend workshops which highlight interventions and programs providing comprehensive, youth appropriate services for those at risk for HIV and for those who are living with HIV. Learn what works, share challenges and successes, network with others who seek to end the AIDS crisis for our youth.
For more details on this year Ryan White Youth Conference and Staying Alive, please visit NAPWA at http://www.napwa.org/
Join the National Minority AIDS Council for the 2007 United States Conference on AIDS (USCA), set for November 7-10, 2007, at the Palm Springs Convention Center, in Palm Springs, CA.
USCA is the largest AIDS-related gathering in the United States, USCA is phenomenon you cannot afford to miss. Over 3,000 workers from all fronts of the HIV/AIDS epidemic - from case managers and physicians, to public health workers, youth and advocates - come together at this meeting to build national support networks, exchange the latest information and learn cutting-edge tools to address the challenges of HIV/AIDS.
A limited number of scholarships will be available. The Scholarship Deadline is June 29th! Click here to apply online for the scholarship.
For more details on this years USCA please visit NMAC at http://www.nmac.org/home/
Funding Opportunities
The Intergenerational Approaches to HIV/AIDS Prevention Education with Women Across the Lifespan Pilot Program is accepting applications. The purpose of the Intergenerational Approaches to HIV/AIDS Prevention Education with Women Across the Lifespan Pilot Program is to develop cross-generational HIV/AIDS prevention education approaches specific to women at risk for or living with HIV/AIDS and other female members of the family, particularly African American, Native American/American Indian, Hispanic/Latino, and Asian/Pacific Islander women from the diaspora who are grandmothers, mothers, daughters, granddaughters, and aunts.
Application kits may be obtained at http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?oppId=13759&mode=VIEW. Applications must be received no later than 5 p.m. EST on July 2, 2007.
Request for applications for the Prevention and Support Services for Women Incarcerated or Newly Released Living with or at Risk for HIV/AIDS/STDs Program
The primary purpose of this Office of Women's Health (OWH) HIV/AIDS program is to increase health-related support services available for HIV-infected incarcerated and newly-released women. Application kits may be obtained by accessing http://www.grants.gov.
To obtain a hard copy of the application kit, contact WilDon Solutions at 1-888-203-6161. Applicants may fax a written request to WilDon Solutions at (703) 351-1135 or e-mail the request to OPHSgrantsinfor@teamwildon.com.
Announcements
June 8, 2007 marks the second observance of the National Caribbean-American Health/AIDS Awareness Day (NCAHAAD). On this day, Caribbean-Americans, Caribbean immigrants and community based organizations nationwide will respond to the health disparities facing people of color especially Caribbean immigrants. It will also be a day of reflection and a day to memorialize and show compassion for those who are infected or affected by HIV/AIDS.
National Caribbean-American Health/AIDS Awareness Day is a national mobilization effort designed to encourage Caribbean-American and Caribbean born individuals, across the United States and its territories, to get tested, get treated and get involved!
For more details on National Caribbean-American Health/AIDS Awareness Day please visit http://www.omhrc.gov/templates/content.aspx?ID=4326 and for information on events around the country please visit http://www.caribbeanhealthaidsday.com/events.htm
An estimated 250,000 people in the United States are HIV/AIDS positive and don't even know it.
Advocates for Youth is pleased to support National HIV Testing Day on June 27th. National HIV Testing Day is critical to the fight against HIV/AIDS because it presents an opportunity for people nationwide to learn their HIV status, and to gain the knowledge they need to take control of their health and their lives. National HIV Testing Day also provides an invaluable opportunity to dispel the myths and stigma associated with HIV testing, and to reach those who have never been tested or who have engaged in high-risk behavior since their last test.
- Too many Americans with HIV are diagnosed late in the course of their infection, when they may not be able to fully benefit from life-prolonging treatments
- HIV testing can reduce new infections when HIV-positive persons become aware of their status and take the necessary precautions to stop spreading the disease
- HIV testing is easier, more accessible, and less invasive than ever
For more information on HIV testing, or to find a testing location in your area, please click here.
For more information about National HIV Testing Day and its sponsor the National Association of People with AIDS, please visit http://www.napwa.org.
Advocates for Youth is currently recruiting online peer educators for the 2007-2008 school year. YouthResource http://www.youthresource.com is accepting applications from youth between the ages of 13-24. As an online peer educator young people will answer questions posed by visitors and point visitors to appropriate resources. Online peer educators do not provide medical advice. They help in developing content by writing articles for both websites. Finally, they provide advice and ideas to support Advocates for Youth in its mission.
For more information please click here.
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