A minority, an LGBT-identifying member and an HIV-positive person—each comes with a sometimes unavoidable external stigma attached. Combine all three and it makes for a triple minority that could be vulnerable to depression and suicide. Youth Pride Services Inc. is committed to addressing these issues through its HIV/AIDS outreach for underrepresented GLBTQA youth of color.
Youth Pride Services Inc. ( YPS ) has implemented the Youth Pride Center ( YPC ) , on Chicago's South Side, to work with often underfunded and socially ignored youths of color on the South and West side communities. Statistically, LGBTQ youths ages 13-24 are at greater risk for contracting HIV than their heterosexual counterparts, LBGTQ and heterosexual adults, according to University of South Florida College of Public Health researcher/evaluator Peter Gamache's report, "HIV education for youth in transition to adulthood: Preliminary findings." Gamache also found that youth of color are at a significantly higher risk for HIV infections.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control conducted a similar study that focused on young men.
The CDC reported in 2008 that 55 percent of young men who have sex with men ( ages 15-22 ) did not let people know they were sexually attracted to, and engaging in sexual acts with, other males. They were then less likely to seek HIV testing. Even with alarming statistics and a lack of funding, YPC carries a mission to educate and advocate for youth of color who identify as HIV-positive as well as homeless youth of color, and the greater GLBTQA community.
In 2010, the National Youth Advocacy Coalition to Washington, D.C., invited YPC to the National HIV Best Practice Summit: LGBTQ Youth of Color and HIV Prevention. The summit was a four-day venture of HIV preventative best-practice, community building and sharing, and a presentation of some of the nation's most cutting-edge youth-based, HIV advocacy organizations and their endeavors.
YPC, a division of Youth Pride Services Inc., was invited for its youth-led, social marketing campaign, Caution: Youth at Hope, Not at Risk. YPC's former president, Frank Walker, was head of YPC when the organization was invited to D.C. Walker was excited to travel to the nation's capital to present his organization's campaign to other youth organizations and attendees. Walker attributes the success and draw of the Caution campaign to the fact that words such as "HIV/AIDS" weren't plastered on promotional materials. Instead, the campaign took a more laid-back approach by communicating with youth in a manner that was relatable.
Carlton Cummings is a YPS alum and a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Award recipient. He worked with Walker on HIV/AIDS outreach and remembers deciding to work with the organization in that capacity because of the impact the virus had and still has on the LGBT community.
"It felt great to be so altruistic. I mean I always get tested, so I encourage others to as well. I felt fulfilled," said Cummings.
Directed at young men who have sex with other men, ages 13-21, the Caution campaign challenged youth to connect with their peers through on-the-street surveys, focus groups, and interviews. The three-month project had youth participating in any of YPC's programs, workshops and training. More than 100 youth responded to campaign messages and outreach.
Each new YPC participant was tested for HIV. Fifty percent of the new, incoming program participants who responded to the Caution campaign tested HIV-positive and were then linked to proper healthcare and attention. Non-traditional, yet still effective, YPC's Caution campaign serves as a new-age approach to HIV outreach organized by youth and for youth.
Walker was not surprised by the high percentage of youth testing positive. Unfortunately, when working in HIV/AIDS outreach and prevention, high percentages for positive tests are sometimes a daily occurrence, according to Walker.
"I was not alarmed by it at all. I guess when you are on the ground working on it, it's not very surprising. I hear about two to three cases a week," he said.
Longtime YPC supporter Vernita Gray knows about the harsh realities concerning the lack of HIV/AIDS funding for youth of color on the South and West side neighborhoods of Chicago. When working as the LGBT liaison at the Cook County state's attorney's office, Gray met Walker at a community meeting. She immediately took to his mission to educate, empower and reach out to youth of color. With her friend, the late Renae Ogletree, a fellow youth activist, the two women set out to support Walker's HIV/AIDS outreach endeavors in any capacity. Whether support came in the form of writing a check, attending an event or sending a referral, both women played an integral role in the success of Walker's HIV/AIDS initiates.
"It's important to have services on the South Side," Gray said. "We need services in our community and we need HIV prevention in our community. It's important to have services for gays, lesbians, transgender, and questioning youth on the South Side. Why not?"
Whether it's jet-setting to an HIV-preventative "best-practices" youth summit, working on the ground level to test youth for HIV or carrying out a social marketing campaign in support of HIV/AIDS outreach, Walker said HIV/AIDS awareness is integrated in not only YPC's mission, but also its team, work, and practice.
"We take on a very holistic approach to HIV/AIDS awareness and outreach," he said. "We focus on food, health, education and employment. If youth have all those things going for them, then they will make a better decision about their sexual health. Everything we do, education wise or employment wise, is all about HIV, which is why our motto is youth at hope, not at risk."
