NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 1, 2014
Contact:
Kourtney Pulliam: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 215.825.8297
PHMC to use three-year, $901,680 grant to combat STD rates among Philadelphia youth.
PHILADELPHIA, PA—Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), a nonprofit public health institute that creates and sustains healthier communities, and its Health Promotions department has been awarded funding to implement the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of STD Prevention's Community Approaches to Reducing Sexually Transmitted Diseases (CARs) project. The three-year, $901,680 grant allows PHMC to respond to the alarmingly high STD rates affecting Philadelphia's African American and Latino youth, ages 15-19 in North Philadelphia (zip codes: 19140, 19133, 19132, 19121, 19122).
The CARs project works to increase and sustain partnerships that improve the quality of local STD services and promote health equity. The CARs grant will be broken into three phases. In the first phase, PHMC will conduct a community needs assessment. This will influence the selection of an evidence-based intervention strategy that will be implemented in North Philadelphia and serve as the basis for the STD Community Action Plan (CAP). During phase two, PHMC will implement and evaluate CAP and in the final phase, PHMC will help disseminate findings and implement sustainable project strategies.
To implement the program, PHMC will leverage its Community Capacity Building Initiative (CCBI), which is based on community based participatory approaches. CCBI will help PHMC to identify the needs of youth so they can engage the community; address barriers to services; develop and implement community driven solution to reduce STD disparities; create partnerships and communications to promote sexual health, advance community wellness and evaluate the project.
A key part of this process will be the creation of a decision making body, the Community Advisory Board (CAB). This board will include organizations that provide access or services to youth and community parents and local youth. The youth representatives will be selected from the Youth Leadership Institute Alumni Network, created by Health Promotions Council, a PHMC affiliate. Throughout the CARs grant, PHMC will provide training, technical assistance and monitoring to support CAB with the following community capacity building elements: communication, youth and adult engagement, leadership, program assessment and sustainability.
"The CARs grant gives us an opportunity to leverage more than forty years of experience in the region, vast resources and use of our skilled Research and Evaluation Group to help reduce STDs and create awareness among young people in North Philadelphia," said Vanessa Briggs, Managing Director of PHMC Health Promotion.
About PHMC
Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) is a nonprofit public health institute that creates and sustains healthier communities. PHMC uses best practices to improve community health through direct service, partnership, innovation, policy, research, technical assistance and a prepared workforce. PHMC has served the region since 1972. For more information on PHMC, visit www.phmc.org.
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