Re-Imagining HIV/Substance Abuse Prevention for

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Re-Imagining HIV/Substance Abuse Prevention for
African-American/Black Young Men in Urban
Communities

• Allen Kwabena Frimpong
• People for the American WayYoung People For
  Leadership Academy Fellow
• Brick Rebuilding, Project Coordinator at the
  Harm Reduction Coalition

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What does this ad mean to you?
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Societal factors and its influence on at-risk
youth of color

• Formative survey research ( 4 focus groups) was
  conducted in Newark, NJ in the Fall of 2007 - 39
  participants (23 male, 16 female) Predominantly
  African-American/Black and Latino participants,
  12-18 years old.
• Focus groups were done to create a harm reduction
  based prevention intervention program for urban
  youth of color in Newark titled, Brick Rebuilding
  to
• Identify feelings and attitudes about problems in
  the participants community.
• Observe how feelings and attitudes about social
  problems affect drug use in a young persons
  life.
• Point out what motivates participants to engage
  in sexual practices.
• Look at how young peoples motivational factors
  may place them at risk when engaging in unsafe
  sexual practices.
• Find out what will make youth invest more in
  their own personal safety and well-being.

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Taking a look at African-African/Black Men in
the Juvenile System Bethany Cares, A Case
Study

• Bethany Cares is a program of Bethany Baptist
  Church in Newark, NJ that works with Essex County
  Residential Correctional House as a re-entry
  program.
• This program was one of the focus groups for the
  Brick Rebuilding project It included ten
  predominantly African-American/Black young men
  ages 16-18.
• Before the focus group was conducted. A survey
  was taken to find out the number of participants
  who were sexually active and/or had participated
  in drug use to help inform the discussion.

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Influencing Factors for at-risk behavior in
young Black men