Programs

The Youth At Risk program is an educational youth development program whose primary target population is incarcerated youth and youth in substance use treatment and/or behavioral healthcare facilities. The program utilizes a multiple session, skills building curriculum, Y.O.U.R.S. (Youth Outreach Understanding the Risk Sessions), which has been designed by the program staff. An evaluation tool designed by Dr. James Luther is used to track the effectiveness of the program. In addition, the program provides educational sessions to schools, community-based organizations and other entities upon request. All of the materials are medically accurate, comprehensive, supports abstinence and the delay of pregnancy throughout the adolescent years. The YAR Program also features an "in-service training" component and a "train the trainer" component, teaching other agencies/programs how to use the Y.O.U.R.S. curriculum.

Youth At Risk HIV/STD Curriculum Overview

• HIV 101/201 (covers the basics of HIV prevention, transmission, testing, timeline, body fluids as well as dispelling myths, emotional response to HIV, basic treatment/meds, t-cells/viral load, vertical transmission, etc);
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) (may be more than one session, covers prevention, transmission, treatment, symptoms, long term effects, link to HIV, which ones are curable, etc);
• Drugs/Alcohol Use/Abuse (how they effect decision making skills, the immune system, etc.);
• Body Image (self-esteem, self-respect, who influences how we feel about our bodies i.e. parents/peers/partners/media, how does body image influence safer behaviors, etc);
• Partner Negotiation (refusal skills, role play, avoiding dangerous/risky situations, how to make safer decisions and carry them out, etc).
• Behavioral Triggers (what influences my behavior/decisions; anger, boredom, loneliness, location, peers, depression, parents etc);
• Personal Responsibility (who is responsible for my health, my body, etc);
• Contraception (what works, what doesn’t work, which methods protect against STDs and which only protect against pregnancy, availability of methods, etc.)
• Gender (this session will present the students with the differences between sex, gender and gender identity and help them to identify how these concepts affect our society today and the way we present ourselves within it)

Trained young adults (near peers), not much older than the participants, deliver a youth specific HIV/STD prevention message in an honest, non-judgmental manner. The format is relaxed and fosters true dialogue, rather than lecturing. The intervention is accepted by the population because they are treated with dignity and respect. The risk characteristics for this group include, but are not limited to: the inability to recognize and/or personalize their own risk; misinformation concerning HIV/STD transmission/treatment often due to poor school attendance and low reading levels; lack of parental involvement; socioeconomic status and access to health care. All of the materials are medically accurate, comprehensive, supports abstinence and the delay of pregnancy throughout the adolescent years.