Our YOUth Reach program has proven to be very effective in reaching the African American youth in Montgomery County Maryland since 1995. YOUth Reach is a peer-to-peer after school STD/HIV prevention and education program that trains adolescents (between 12 and 19 years old) to be educators. Over the past seven years, we have recruited and trained more than 100 adolescents who have been instrumental in conveying HIV/AIDS prevention and teen responsibility messages to their peers. Certified health educators meet with peer educators biweekly to monitor the project. The project is designed, developed and conducted by the peer educators to provide them with the opportunities to reach other young people, teach them about STD and HIV prevention, and promote the development of risk reduction skills. The Be Proud! Be Responsible! training curriculum used to prepare participants for YOUth Reach peer counseling has been effective in raising awareness and changing behavior among participants.
In our research of the effectiveness of this program, we found that three months following the youth intervention, the participants (of YOUth Reach) reported less risky sexual behavior and reported having sexual intercourse on fewer occasions and with fewer women than did participants in the control group that did not receive the youth intervention. Those who had sexual intercourse used condoms more consistently, and a smaller percentage of them reported engaging in anal intercourse with women. Other significant findings showed that participants in Be Proud! Be Responsible! scored higher on a test of AIDS and STD knowledge, expressed less favorable attitudes toward risky sexual behavior, and reported weaker intentions to engage in risky sexual behavior than did the participants in the control group that did not receive the youth intervention.
The YOUth Reach program has been very successful in raising awareness, reaching more than 1,260 individuals from July 1995 to 2000. During this time, 11,170 male condoms and 3,055 female condoms were distributed plus 540 STD referrals were made.
Project H.O.P.E.
Our YOUth Reach program has proven to be very effective in reaching the African American youth in Montgomery County Maryland since 1995. YOUth Reach is a peer-to-peer after school STD/HIV prevention and education program that trains adolescents (between 12 and 19 years old) to be educators. Over the past seven years, we have recruited and trained more than 100 adolescents who have been instrumental in conveying HIV/AIDS prevention and teen responsibility messages to their peers. Certified health educators meet with peer educators biweekly to monitor the project. The project is designed, developed and conducted by the peer educators to provide them with the opportunities to reach other young people, teach them about STD and HIV prevention, and promote the development of risk reduction skills. The Be Proud! Be Responsible! training curriculum used to prepare participants for YOUth Reach peer counseling has been effective in raising awareness and changing behavior among participants.