Community Outreach & Education
Young Men's Programs
YMSM & COC Programs
The Young Men who have Sex with Men (YMSM) and Community of Color (CoC) programs focus on the wellness and sexual health prevention needs of gay, bisexual and queer adolescent and young adult males. The HEAT Program provides group interventions including 3MV (a retreat for young men hosted both locally and out-of-city) and Vogue Theory (a home grown leadership development intervention created and led by Pony Zion). Our outreach to young queer men of color includes information sharing and connection to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) services, HIV/STI testing and confidential, comprehensive medical care. For more information about the YMSM & COC programs please contact Reginaldo Sandiford.
TXTXT@HEAT was conceived as an adaptation of the evidence-based Text Messaging Intervention to Improve Antiretroviral Adherence among HIV-positive youth. TXTXT builds upon HEAT's extensive treatment adherence counseling services and its existing text message-based appointment reminder system and seeks to improve rates of medication adherence and viral load suppression among HEAT's young Black MSM clientele. By participating in TXTXT, HIV-positive young Black MSM in care at HEAT get to design their own daily text message reminder which comes to their phone at the same time every day. Controlling the content of the text message has proven to make this treatment adherence intervention popular with HIV-positive young people in care at HEAT given that it is both personalized as well as a message that considers the young person's privacy and confidentiality. The message may have no reference at all to HIV or taking medication but the young person knows what the message means and is a safe way for them to get medication reminders. For more information about the TXTXT Program please contact: Ramesh Smith (718) 613-8473
LGBTQ Outreach Program
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Outreach program was created to provide targeted outreach to raise awareness of HEAT’s health services for LGBTQ and questioning youth. Youth engagement includes events such as street outreach, house balls, health fairs, schools, and large-scale in-house HEAT events. In collaboration with other community based organizations, we provide youth sexual health education, peer positions, and workshops. For more information about the LGBTQ program please contact Yaw Amanfoh.
Young Women's Program
The Young Women's program provides sexual and reproductive health services to youth ages 13-24. HEAT reaches hundreds of young women annually through our clinical care, special events, street outreach, educational groups and workshops. We believe that sexual health education provided in a supportive environment can help young women make informed decisions that will benefit their reproductive health and lives. For more information about the women's program please contact Tiffanie Patterson.