Da’ Truth Sexual Health Youth Leadership Program (SHYLP) is designed to promote sexual health and awareness among youth between the ages of 13-24. The main goal of the program is to decrease teen pregnancy, HIV and STI transmission, and risky sexual behaviors within the target population and to increase sexual health knowledge, awareness, and advocacy within the community. Services provided to the youth and community to achieve these goals includes the facilitation of medically accurate presentations and CDC developed evidence-based curriculum, Be Proud! Be Responsible!, which allows the youth to conduct 6 interventions (to students in each community, typically a minimum of 18 presentations). Youth Leaders are trained weekly by Program Coordinator and by our partners who have agreed to conduct sexual health workshops. By building on the communities’ assets to create an environment that promotes and supports the sexual health and well-being of its youth, Youth Leaders will be power instruments of community change.

•  Young people are trained as Program Leaders through the provision of ongoing training on comprehensive sexual health, HIV/STD prevention and risk reduction.

• Community Assessment and Development Strategy to assess and address the target community’s resources and barriers regarding adolescent sexual health education and services.

• Community Education and Engagement via educational presentations, evidenced based interventions, health promotion and health care systems, implementation of community change strategies, social marketing campaigns, and internet/social media activities.

• Comprehensive Sexual Health Care Services for young People to provide or facilitate access to HIV/STD screening and treatment.

The program's targeted contiguous communities of color, Hempstead-11550, Uniondale-11553, and Roosevelt-11575, represent areas that are disproportionately affected by poverty, thus experiencing the greatest burden of HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted infections, teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, and violence. With unemployment rates higher than the state's and nation's average, which, for many, prevents access to optimal health care and health education, these communities prove to be in dire need for the services provided by SHYLP.

•  HIV/AIDS 101

•  STDs and the Youth

•  Contraceptives/Birth Control

•  Healthy Relationships

•  Youth/Adult Partnerships