GMHC 'Your Realness' Initiative Targets LGBT Youth of Color

Late last month, Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) launched a new media initiative titled, Your Realness, which will broaden outreach to the New York City House and Ball community. The initiative targets LGBT youth of color, specifically African American and Latino men ages 14-29, by utilizing multiple social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and mobile dating apps.

Data from the Pew Research Center reveals that, "31 percent of online teens get health... information from the internet. And 17 percent of online teens report they use the internet to gather information about health topics that are hard to discuss with others, such as drug use and sexual health topics."

This trend is more common among non-white teens that come from low-income families. This study highlights the commonly known fact that social media use is pervasive among teens, and by harnessing the power of social media GMHC will be able to develop targeted campaigns to best disseminate information on HIV/AIDS, substance use and available support services.

Your Realness will help decrease stigma and increase communication about safer sex and substance use within this targeted population to ultimately encourage changing behaviors and attitudes. By using this initiative to increase education and communication, GMHC will be better able to connect these individuals to HIV prevention tools, connecting HIV-positive people to care and broadening access to other supportive services.

Another key element to the Your Realness initiative is recruiting and training volunteer peer mentors to provide one-on-one and group counseling to members of the House and Ball community, reinforcing messages about substance abuse and HIV prevention. GMHC has worked with the New York City House and Ball community for more than 24 years and because of this relationship it anticipates that more than 3,000 individuals at high-risk for HIV/AIDS will be reached by the Your Realness initiative.

"GMHC is uniquely positioned in the New York City House and Ball community as the host of the largest annual ball event, the Latex Ball," said GMHC CEO Kelsey Louie. "Our longstanding partnership with the House and Ball leadership provides valuable data on HIV prevention among young LGBT people of color. As GMHC continues providing tools to erase stigma and increase awareness about HIV prevention for all populations, we will always be here to support this community."

GMHC will directly offer in-person counseling to more than 300 people, and more than 200 will access HIV tests or engage in other GMHC prevention services as a result of the Your Realness initiative.

The Your Realness initiative is funded by a $116,000 grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

For more information, visit http://www.gmhc.org