March is Women's HERSTORY Month

Relationships in the Age of Technology

Sponsored by CAMBA, Junior Advisory Board of YWCHAC, NBLCA, b Condoms

OPEN CALL FOR SHORT FILMS

OPEN CALL FOR ENTRIES• Short Films

Power of My Parts -A Film Festival For Youth By Youth is committed to showcasing the best in independent cinema from our young talent. Our Power of My Parts -A Film Festival For Youth By Youth Shorts category features emerging young filmmakers work in narrative short films. Please note these films must be under 41 minutes.

The Film Festival has featured past Scenarios USA films written and co-directed by young people from around the country and award-winning directors.

If you have a short film that focuses on issues that young people face daily, send us a clip to info@ywchac.org. Your short film could be featured at our 5th Annual Power of My Parts -A Film Festival for Youth By Youth in April 2014. Deadline is March 7, 2014.

MISSION & OBJECTIVE

To advance use independent films as teaching tools and create dialogue among young people about the issues that they face daily and to provide resources so that they can make informed decisions.  

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

Power of My Parts -A Film Festival For Youth By Youth  launched in 2010 welcomes numerous young filmmakers including most recently, Jordan Coleman, Mama Don't Play Productions and Jason Charles, Cinematic Empowerment (9 ½ Minutes).  While there are more than 1,000 film festivals worldwide, very few feature the work of aspiring young people under the age of 24 with a focus on social issues.

Power of My Parts -A Film Festival For Youth By Youth  is  much more than an annual event, the film festival supports the work that is done by YWCHAC which operates all year round to achieve the organization's mission of fostering the development of young women of color  in leadership, organizing and advocacy skills. The film festival provides a venue for exhibiting the skills that the young women in the program have learned as well as a vehicle to impart life-saving information that they can share with their peers, families and immediate communities.  

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: Contact Kymsha Henry, Co-Director for ways you can be part of this amazing event.

ORGANIZERS: Young Women of Color HIV/AIDS Coalition, Pixod, Sundree Brand Management, Cinematic Empowerment, Social Cinemas, LLC., HEAT Program, Project KISS, Montefiore Adolescent AIDS Program, Legal Action Center

Schooling Sex: A Community discussion on sex education in the NYC school system.

 

 

Guest Moderator Tracie Gardner with Guest Panelists Youth Activist Mister Louis G, Principal Mark Ossenheimer, Monica Rodriguez from SIECUS, Council Member Danny Dromm and Ace Robinson (GMHC)

Seasons Greetings 2013

 

Give the gift of voice! Your donation can help to empower young women who've yet to find their voices.

This is why #WE_SPEAK

 

 

A Look Back @ the Red Heels & Bow Ties World AIDS Day 2013

RED Heels & Bow Ties Guests @Bubble Lounge Tribeca

YWCHAC decor @ Bubble Lounge Tribeca



YWCHAC Alumni, Kim, Jody, Emma

Human Intonation Executive Director, Verndeda Whyte & Zena Mine



Love Heal Staff in the House

WE SPEAK BU Play Raises HIV Awareness

National Prevention Information Network

WE SPEAK BU Play Raises HIV Awareness Abstract The Binghamton University Pipe Dream recently reported that Women Empowered Support, Protect, Educate, Advocate, and Know at Binghamton University (WE SPEAK BU) in New York recently presented their third annual “HIV Positive Monologues” to spread HIV/AIDS awareness and educate students about prevention methods. Students performed the theatrical monologues, which followed the story of four characters whose lives were affected by HIV/AIDS. It included the story of a young woman who had to tell her boyfriend that she had been infected with HIV as a result of mother-to-child transmission, and that of a married man who resisted temptation to cheat on his wife after they had an argument. However, the wife only admitted to her own extramarital affair after she had infected both her newborn child and her husband with HIV. The performance emphasized the importance of prevention to the students. Source http://www.bupipedream.com/ Date of Publication 11/15/2013 Author Sarah Novak Article Type General media Article Category News Briefs

WHY WE SPEAK...

 

YWCHAC was founded on the premise that, in order to address mission focused issues, we need to address issues of gender, racial, economic and social inequalities and its’ impact on HIV, teen pregnancy and young women of color. These issues are paramount in the lives of young women of color and it is important to include as a fundamental part of our discussions and in raising the awareness, young women provided with opportunities to affect change in their communities. The information and knowledge sharing raise awareness in communities and agencies to further develop programs, policy statements, and future funding priorities that include best practices.

 

According to the Guttmacher Institute report, Nation Pays Steep Price For High Rates Of Unintended Pregnancy (May 19, 2011), it costs NYS an average of $749 million in tax payer spending to support young women who have unintended pregnancies. The state-specific costs from new HIV diagnoses in 2009 for total lifetime treatment costs of HIV in NYS totals $1.7 million (CDC HIV Surveillance Report 2009, Vol. 21).

 

Make an investment in a young woman in YWCHAC &
change the trajectory of her life.

 

http://www.nyc.gov/html/hra/downloads/pdf/press_releases/2013/pr_march_2013/teen_pregnancy_press_release.pdf

Become a Friend of YWCHAC

According to the Guttmacher Institute report, Nation Pays Steep Price For High Rates Of Unintended Pregnancy (May 19, 2011), it costs NYS an average of $749 million in tax payer spending to support young women who have unintended pregnancies. The state-specific costs from new HIV diagnoses in 2009 for total lifetime treatment costs of HIV in NYS totals $1.7 million (CDC HIV Surveillance Report 2009, Vol. 21). 

 

  Among the young women of color that graduate from YWCHAC, 

• sees a 100% high school graduation rate
• seeing 100% college graduation rate from the first 3 cohorts of YWCHAC
• sees 100% prevention of unintended pregnancies
• sees 100% prevention of new HIV diagnoses, & sexually transmitted infections

 

$100 Contribution	Provides stipends for 4 WE SPEAK members for a week
$75 Contribution	Pays for metro cards for 10 WE SPEAK members for 1 session
$50 Contribution	Pays for snacks for WE SPEAK members during 1 WE SPEAK Summer Advocacy Institute session
$25 Contribution	Pays for supplies for 2 WE SPEAK members

 

 

“When youth take action to improve their contexts, their efforts are empowering & also improve the contexts for themselves & their peers. The impact of youth action is cumulative, because youth who take action once are more likely to continue doing so & because other youth may be inspired by their example to take action.”

Positive Youth Development So Far, Search Institute

 

By making an investment in a young woman in YWCHAC, you change the trajectory of her life.

 
 
Thank you,
Claire Simon,
Co-Founder

#WE_SPEAK 2013 Summer Advocacy Institute

#WE_SPEAK 2013 Summer Advocacy Institute

The WE SPEAK Summer Advocacy Institute graduated newly recruited members from the eight week program.  They were provided with the skills to mobilize peers to speak up and out on issues that put them at risk for HIV infection.  WE SPEAK members were trained on advocacy skills and techniques to create a campaign to engage their peers 
in their HIV prevention and advocacy efforts.   


YWCHAC Alumni coordinate the 2013 WE_SPEAK Summer Advocacy Institute
(L-R: Jody Adams, Sade Powell, Rocina Dalzell)


Upon completion of the Advocacy Institute, WE SPEAK members will spend the year working on issues and campaigns discussed during the Institute at weekly meetings held on Friday evenings during the academic year.



Participatory Action Research: Outreach Day 2013

Akeem, Kisma, Rachel, & Symone
New YWCHAC members collecting surveys  in Crown Heights, Brooklyn

OUTREACH DAY in NYC

The Outreach Day culminates 8 weeks of the WE SPEAK Summer Advocacy Institute.  Newly recruited YWCHAC members hit the 5 boroughs to collect surveys that they created using participatory action research to gather information about their neighborhoods.  The data collected will be used to further their new campaign-

#WE_SPEAK for Change!



Samantha B. with volunteer: T. Davis
#WE SPEAK:  Collecting surveys at Port Authority




“Through civic activism, the ideas and energy of young people can contribute meaningfully as they participate in community building, work toward social change, apply their leadership skills, and simultaneously gain access to services, supports and opportunities that facilitate their own development.”

Youth Leadership for Development

Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development

Huffington Post recognizes Sparks Nation: Announcing the Top 24 Under 24 Youth Changemakers: Youth Changemaker: Sadé Powell



Sadé, 19, is an outspoken young woman who has worked diligently to share HIV/AIDS prevention messages in her native city of New York, New York.

Sadé works as a part of the Young Women of Color HIV/AIDs Coalition (YWCHAC) in New York, a coalition for and of young women of color addressing the increasing HIV rates among their population by building partnerships among individuals and organizations that serve and empower adolescents. She first got involved at age 14, when one of her teachers connected her with another student involved with the program. She sent in an application and has been working with them ever since. 
 



Sade Powell with her mother
& HIV/AIDS activist, Sheril Franklin

Sadé's involvement with YWCHAC is driven both by her indignation with current health policies for HIV/AIDs, and by personal experiences: her mothers also work with substance abuse and HIV- infected populations, and her grandfather died suddenly from an AIDS-related issue.

Sadé graduated from the WE SPEAK program at the Coalition in 2011, and currently acts as the Summer Institute Advocacy Associate. She is involved in a mapping project with Legal Action Center, designed to support for the implementation of NYC's mandate on comprehensive sex and HIV education in public schools, which also require quality evaluation to track effectiveness.

"When I was in middle school, we received a two-day sex education course provided by a local clinic Mount Sinai Adolescent Clinic. Even then, the only students that were given these classes were student whose parents signed permission forms," says Sadé. Comprehensive sex education for all students regulated by this mandate would ensure access to the right information for all students in the city—an important cause for Sadé and the YWCHAC.

Sadé's "sole reason" for being involved in mentoring and policy change, she says, is to engage all people, especially marginalized groups, in civic issues.
"In this field you are taught to feel strength and believe in it.," she says. "The foundation for my philosophy is very much grounded in grassroots politics."
Sadé has interned with Advocates for Youth and was chosen to address the U.S. Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS to share her thoughts on the importance of including young people in the HIV/AIDS prevention efforts laid out by the White House in 2011.
In addition, Sadé has taken her advocacy global: She participated in the 2012 International AIDS Conference where she had the opportunity to speak on a panel for the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS.

While many aspects of the conference were inspiring to her, Sadé learned something very important about public conversations around HIV/AIDs. "I left the conference feeling disillusioned and disheartened by the politics of such a grand event," she reflects. "Instead of just policymakers and community organizers, I would have enjoyed having a diverse crowd of youth as well as local DC residents at the conference, especially considering the city currently has one of the highest HIV rates in the nation."

As an advocate, this realization compelled Sadé to examine the assumptions that activists "blindly traverse and often fuel" when working on public health issues. Her next project is to bring a diverse, young group of people into a conversation to inform advocates from all walks of life.

"Sadé is a dedicated advocate who understands that youth involvement in policy making is imperative to their futures and to their immediate communities," says her nominator Kymsha Henry. "She works hard to mobilize the newer members of the Young Women of Color HIV/AIDS Coalition whenever she can."

"I am honored to be named a Top 24 Under 23 Young Changemaker," says Sadé. "Recognition for youth activists is extremely rare as we are oftentimes belittled and excluded from the decision-making process. This is why it is imperative that youth are given more leadership positions to foster healthier youth-adult and peer relationships. Unfortunately, we see this undermined even within youth organizations that may indeed provided health services however they lack fundamental structure to nurture and support youth leaders.

"My decision to continue to be a voice and vital part of YWCHAC has everything to do with its ability to foster empowerment and in all of its members. Hence, we work as would a village," she says.

WE SPEAK Members talk about why the Young Women of Color HIV/AIDS Coalition is important to them!

WE SPEAK Members on YWCHAC from YWCHAC on Vimeo.

2013 End of the Year Celebration & WE SPEAK Graduation

YWCHAC Members at the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture
Christina, Sade, Marvel, Amelia, Jensine, & Natalie

Safer Sex Education Party @ Studio 10, Bk

Annual Summer Safer Sex Education Party at Studio 10, Brooklyn, NYC with FREE & Confidential HIV Testing & health resource tables

YWCHAC Open House

YWCHAC Members
at Federation for Protestant Welfare Agencies

WE SPEAK Summer Advocacy Institute Recruitment

YWCHAC’s WE SPEAK Summer Advocacy Institute application is now available. We are looking for young women of color ages 13-21 (HIV positive & HIV negative) who have an interest in women’s issues, policy and advocacy work and becoming a resource for other young women in their families, schools and immediate communities. The WE SPEAK Summer Advocacy Institute is an eight (8) week program where 25 young women of color will be provided with the skills to mobilize peers to speak up and out on issues that put them at risk for HIV infection. WE SPEAK members will be trained on advocacy skills and techniques to create a campaign to engage their peers in their HIV prevention and advocacy efforts. WE SPEAK members do receive a stipend for their work.

Upon completion of the Summer Advocacy Institute, WE SPEAK members spend the year working on issues and campaigns that are discussed during the summer at weekly meetings held on Friday evenings.

The application accompanied by the two (2) recommendation letters is due June 7, 2013. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact via email at info@ywchac.org

YWCHAC Co-Founder, Claire Simon Recognized As A Life Changer & Changemaker in 1 Weekend

 

Jody Adams, YWCHAC Program Associate, Co-Director Kymsha Henry, with Co-Founder Claire Simon, Rev. Stacey Latimer, LAI Foundaiton, Inc., & Jamika Russell, YWCHAC Alum

 

 

YWCHAC Co-Director, Kymsha Henry & Transdiaspora Network Change Maker Honoree,
YWCHAC Co-Founder, Claire Simon

YWCHAC 2013 Power of My Parts-A Film Festival for Youth by Youth

The Power of My Parts- A Film Festival For Youth By Youth
features films written, directed, acted & produced by talented young people for young people from far & wide on issues they face daily.  Youth serving organizations will be on site to share information & resources.  The FREE event will also have Free & Confidential HIV testing.

Kimberly Canady-Griffith,YWCHAC Alum & Steering Committee Member

 YWCHAC is excited to see Kimberly Canady-Griffith, our friend, colleague and YWCHAC alum and Steering Committee member working to help inform others about the work she is doing to help end AIDS via the HIV Stops with Me campaign. 

 

HIV STOPS WITH ME (HSWM) features real HIV positive people talking about real issues and focuses on the personal strengths of people living with HIV and affirms their ability to display these qualities in their everyday life to tear down the sigma associated with HIV, recognizing that it first starts with the individual.  Each spokesmodel is committed to stopping the spread of HIV while also promoting the value of self-care and healthy living.
Be sure to visit Kim's pagehttp://hivstopswithme.org/spokesmodels/kim

National Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Press Conference at Brooklyn Borough Hall

2nd Annual BCG Awards- Nonprofit of the Year for 2013

YWCHAC

2nd Annual BCG Awards- Nonprofit of the Year for 2013

BlackCelebrityGiving.com (BCG) honors YWCHAC with the Nonprofit of the Year Award.
BCG recognizes excellence in service to the community. YWCHAC garnered 2500 votes and was recognized as a leader in empowering young women of color  through skills building, advocacy and leadership development.

MTV invites YWCHAC to screen "I'm Positive"

Tune in to MTV on Dec. 1, 7/6c, to watch "I'm Positive," a new documentary special from MTV that follows three young Americans living with HIV. One of the three profiled is a Greater Than AIDS ambassador, a young gay man living with HIV in Dallas.


The show was developed with Greater Than AIDS co-founder the Kaiser Family Foundation, as part of long standing partnership with MTV and was produced by Dr. Drew Pinsky and the team responsible for the ground-breaking program "16 & Pregnant." Gilead Sciences provided funding.

More information and resources can be found at GYTNOW.org.

Health Hero: Helping Young Women in NYC Become HIV/AIDS Peer Educators

Health Hero: Helping Young Women in NYC Become HIV/AIDS Peer Educators

Claire Simon talks about her organization, Young Women of Color HIV/AIDS Coalition.

By Kellee Terrell

Posted: 12/18/2012 04:18 PM EST

Filed UnderLatinos,New York City,Health News,Women And Girls

New York City leads the country among young people age 13-24 testing positive for HIV. And while Black women and Latinas account for 29 percent of the city’s population, they make up 89 percent of all new diagnoses each year.

Given these statistics, in 2005, there wasn’t a local political response addressing the epidemic among women and girls. To fill in that gap, a group of HIV/AIDS advocates came together to talk about what was happening with young girls (PDF).

Then, the Young Women of Color HIV/AIDS Coalition (YWCHAC) was born. Seven years and 150 graduates later, the group’s WE SPEAK peer education group for young women — both HIV positive and negative — has empowered a new generation of female HIV/AIDS activists and leaders. Claire Simon, the organization’s co-founder/co-director sat down with BET.com to talk about her amazing group of young women.  

What were some of your major concerns from the beginning?

We hadn’t seen a real local and state response for women and girls since the mid-‘90s with the push to test pregnant mothers for HIV in New York. Obviously, a new one was needed. Girls as young as 15, 16 were testing positive; some were testing positive as a result from sexual abuse; we saw a lot of young girls dating much older men; and there was a lack of information and resources for this demographic. But most important: How could we engage these same young women, have them tell their own stories to help others and to teach them to be advocates?

One of the first steps to finding this out was asking young women, “What do you want? What are your concerns?”

What were the concerns?
They wanted three main things: To have more educational opportunities, to be economically secure and to know more about their health and bodies. They believed that if they graduated from high school and went to college, they would have their own money and not have to depend on someone else. Also having an education meant being able to voice their needs.  

Also, they believed that knowing about their bodies — health exams, puberty, menstruation, HIV-risk — would help them be more informed and make better decisions. For them it was simple: More opportunities, more knowledge meant more options in life.

And so the program is really about helping them achieve just that.

Tell us more about the program.

Each year, we have a group of 25-35 high schoolers from all five boroughs and we meet almost every Friday. The meetings are a safe space for young women to learn about HIV/AIDS and other issues, to talk about what they are going through and to develop as peer leaders so that they can go back into their communities.

In terms of events and outings, we also have a summer institute, we’ve had testing parties for youth across the city, gone on retreats and [have] hosted a film festival since 2008. Some of our young women have sat on panels, including the International AIDS Conference this past summer. We even have a few affiliate chapters on college campuses that are taking this message even further to a broader audience.

And we know it’s working because our young women tell us that this program has changed their lives. They can now talk to their mothers, apply for colleges that they didn’t even know existed until now or be confident to see their local councilperson on the train and tell them what more they could be doing for the community.

Most important: These young women really run this program. They set the agenda, create the activities and they tell us what they want to do. We try to make it happen with the resources we have. And let me tell you, in the beginning, we were doing this for free with the help of people donating space, time, food, Metrocards, you name it.

But for me, that’s what you do when something is truly a labor of love.  

BET Health News - We go beyond the music and entertainment world to bring you important medical information and health-related tips of special relevance to Blacks in the U.S. and around the world. Clickhere to subscribe to our newsletter.  

(Photo: Beatrice Moritz/Young Women of Color HIV/AIDS Coalition)

 

Positive Role To Play Event

YWCHAC | Power of My Parts (2011 Recap)

"Young Women of Color HIV/AIDS Coalition (YWCHAC) presented the Power of My Parts Film Festival for Youth by Youth 2011 @ Tribeca Cinemas, NYC. YWCHAC featured films that addressed issues affecting young people today like HIV infection, anti-bullying, rites of passage and more.

Love & Politics II

Shadan Deleveaux, Dr. Janna Andrews, Athena Moore, Dr. K. Aletha Maybank, Kymsha Henry, Robert Rios

Wednesday June 27, 2012 | Parlor 286 Spring Street, NYC | 7:00 – 10:30pm
HONORING:   NYC Councilwoman - Inez Dickens         NYC Councilwoman - Letitia James
MUSIC BY DJ JON QUICK

A chic and “sexy” young professional HIV awareness and testing event held on National HIV Testing Day where young professionals learn information about HIV and the importance of protecting oneself as well as have the opportunity to voluntarily take a HIV test. The event also impresses the importance of strengthening leadership and advocacy on the part of young professionals in order to influence policy in general; with a focus on HIV/AIDS Policy in order to create change.The event is lead by Aletha Maybank, MD, MPH, Assistant Commissioner, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Brooklyn District Public Health Office.

HOST COMMITTEE
Dr. Janna Andrews    Lockie Andrews      Dr. Catrise Austin        Elkhair Balla    
Brian Benjamin         Shadan Deleveaux  Tara Dowdell               Juanito Fortuno 
Kymsha Henry          Jerrel Horton         Tamika Mallory             Dr. Aletha Maybank   Athena Moore           Dr. Chris Phang       Robert Rios                Torian Robinson    
Chris “Kazi” Rolle     Verneda White

A battle for Sex Education in New York City's schools (A video produced by students in Colulmbia/SIPA's multi-platform storytelling class)

A battle for Sex Education in New York City's schools from Craig Duff on Vimeo.

Essence Magezine December 2011 | Winning the Fight Against HIV by Kellee Terrell

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS COULD FINALLY TURN THE TABLES FOR GOOD IN THE 30-YEAR WAR AGAINST THE DISEASE. HERE'S WHAT THE LATEST ADVANCES MEAN FOR BLACK WOMEN

BY KELLEE TERRELL

Body & Spirit| Health Report

Essence Magezine December 2011

 

Black women are 15 times more likely to be diagnosed with HIV than White women. And while we make up only 12 percent of the female population, in 2009 we accounted for 57 percent of all new HIV infections among U.S. women. But not all the news is bad. "There has been a huge push to focus resources where the epidemic is by promoting testing and linking people to care and behavioral interventions," says Kevin Fenton, M.D., director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for HIV/AIDS. Recent breakthroughs hold promise for further reducing the rates of HIV among Black women.

 

POWERFUL PROTECTION

A South African study of 900 women found that a vaginal gel spiked with the HIV medication tenofovir lowered these women's chances of contracting the disease by 51 percent when inserted in the vagina 12 hours before intercourse. The gel-one of several microbicides being tested-is currently undergoing further clinical trials.

 

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU

"Many African-American women are afraid to discuss condom use with partners because they fear rejection, abuse or being labeled as promiscuous," says Claire Simon, the cofounder of the Young Women's HIV/AIDS Coalition in New York City. "A woman-controlled form of protection would eliminate the negotiation and give women more power over their bodies."

 

A PREVENTION PLAN

Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) involves giving HIV-negative patient medications to prevent them from contracting the disease. In July the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released results of two new studies that showed giving two types of HIV medications to heterosexual HIV-negative people can decrease their chance of becoming infected By an HIV-positive partner by up to 63 percent.

 

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU: Oni Blackstock, M.D., of the Yale School of Medicine notes that PrEP can provide Black women with an alternative means of HIV protection: "Ongoing trials will help us figure out which type of PrEP will be most effective," she says.

 

FREE TESTING

Under the Affordable Care Act, if your insurance coverage started on March 23, 2010, or later, you aren't responsible for a co- pay when getting tested for sexually transmitted infections.

 

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU: Many Black women delay finding out their HIV status, which has often meant by the time they're diagnosed, the disease has progressed to AIDS. "Black women too often put off their own health screenings in order to take care of everyone else," says Hilary Beard,

Co-author of Health First! The Black Women's Wellness Guide (Smileylsooes). "And sometimes we just can't afford see a doctor. Free preventive testings will help to ensure that we can afford to take care of ourselves."