Training Girls to be the Next Generation of Educators and Activists
In response to the increasing rates of HIV among young women of color in New York City, Love Heals launched the Leadership, Empowerment and Awareness Program (LEAP) for Girls in 2006. The program focuses on neighborhoods in Harlem, the South Bronx and Central Brooklyn that have felt the greatest impact from the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Partnering with individual schools and community-based organizations, LEAP for Girls provides young women of color between the ages of 12 and 18 with training in leadership skills as well as information on HIV/AIDS prevention and reproductive health issues.
LEAP for Girls seeks to train a new generation of community educators and activists. Participants develop critical skills that they will take with them into their adult lives. Empowered by this newfound knowledge, they, in turn, share it with their peers, family members and others.
LEAP for Girls participants have the opportunity to:
* Participate in twelve training sessions facilitated by
Love Heals.
* Improve their skills in communication, public
speaking, decision-making, and challenging biases.
* Study human anatomy as well as the facts about
HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections.
* Hear personal stories of HIV-positive women.
* Learn about advocacy and community service.
* Take home a training manual for continued study.
* Participate in two to three follow-up sessions
facilitated by staff at the partner agency.
* Implement a service project of their choosing related to
HIV/AIDS in the community.
* Attend a graduation ceremony in front of their family
members.
So far, 81 young women have graduated from LEAP. Our growing list of partnerships now includes The Young Women's Leadership School of East Harlem, W.E.B. Dubois High School in Crown Heights, The Police Athletic League Wynn Center in Bedford-Stuyvesant, South East Bronx Community Organization (SEBCO), Samuel Gompers Career and Technical High School in the South Bronx, and Brooklyn Academy High School in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Make A Difference:
- Protect Yourself
- Find HIV Resources In Your Community
- Get The Facts On HIV
- Bring LEAP To Your Community Center
- Become An Activist
