Youth+HIV+Awareness

**Youth HIV Awareness Project (YHAP)** By Sladjana Aleksic

 Prevention is the Only Cure

 One of the main issues in the world today is HIV and AIDS. HIV rates in Australia are very low compared to the rest of the world, however the rate of STI's in the NT is 6x higher than the rest of Australia, especially among youth. This a major problem as the risk of HIV infection is increased and the rate of young people practicing unsafe sex is high.  HIV is a virus that damages the immune system, once the immune system is severely damaged; a person is vulnerable to other illnesses and infections such as the flu. A person whose immune system has been damaged by HIV would not be able to fight off other infections effectively, because of this it effects the body more severely and could be potentially deadly. The issue with HIV/AIDS among young people today is unchanged from 10 years ago, in that we are still at risk of contracting HIV and the accompanying health problems. Some organization’s including the UN has recently increased support to the national response to AIDS. Also in the Northern Territory there is a great need of education and testing for HIV/AIDS among today’s youth. Uganda has seen one of the most effective national responses to the HIV/AIDS. It has been estimated that the population with HIV stood at 18.5% in the early 1990s while it declined to 5% in 2002. The latest figures show however, that HIV/AIDS has again increased nearly to 7%.  The successful strategy of Uganda is called ABC and stands for “Abstinence, Be Faithful, use Condoms”. Everyone was encouraged to be aware of abstinence regarding HIV and AIDS. As well as being faithful to one partner and to practice safe sex by using condoms. Educating youth about condom use and safe sex is one key method in the reduction of HIV/AIDS. So when the youth become sexually active they will be better educated and be more likely to use condoms. 
 * Introduction **

World Red Ribbon Day in December Consultation: ** One of the challenges for this event was to organize a group of young people to get involved, have fun, set up and run the event. We first approached a local school called Casuarina Secondary College (CSC). The aim was to encourage the students for the opportunity to get involved with preparing of the event and have input of decision-making process through out the organization of the event. (This will be done through development and debating). We have also approached The Darwin City Council’s Youth Advisory Group to help with the preparation of the event and they agreed. This group provides advice on issues affecting young people in and around Darwin.  A small number of CSC students have said yes they would like to be part of the committee team to help organize the event. Now that we have organized a committee of 20 young people aged 15 to 25 years old that have different backgrounds and experiences. The next thing the committee had to do was find a place where to hold meetings; we approached CSC school for this matter and there where helpful. Also we had to put together a name for the event; we came up with a list of names and then voted on the name that we wanted the event to be called. The name that was decided was ‘Youth HIV & AIDS awareness project’ (the name is very straight forward and simple). My role in all this was to listen, take notes, give input, debate and be involved just as any other committee member. Everyone in committee always worked on ideas for the event and we debated on the best possible out come that was appropriate for our project. Everyone had an equal involvement and opportunity to make a difference. The committee also went out into the local shopping centre Casuarina square, where we asked what the community wanted out of this project and at the same time gained support from the community which was good.  The first thing the committee did before starting to plan the event, was to get one person from the committee that contacted the local Darwin City Council. To seek information for the event, they got to talk to the Recreation Manager about the event. We got told that we will require a special permit to run the event and if they did not we would be fined. The council also offered a number of things that they may be able to help with the event, this being: <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The committee filled out an application form for a grant of $5,000 from government funding for the event. We also thought it was a good idea to have a back up plan in case we do not receive the grant. For our back up we also contacted Office of Youth Affairs where they offer grants of up to $2,000 and quick response funding of $500. <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The committee also approached the Northern Territory AIDS and Hepatitis Council to help with running a store at the event with lots of good information about: <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Captain Condom Poster used for Indigenous safe sex campaign
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">providing a hall/venue
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">providing supervisors and security for the event
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">providing a range of equipment
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">extending our audience through their contact with local young people
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">an existing insurance policy that can cover the event
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">access to photocopier, fax, computer, phone etc. for free
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">contacts for local bands, DJs, MCs and other performers
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">contacts for “youth friendly” security companies
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Publicity and Promotion: **
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Posters/flyers in retail outlets music and takeaway shops
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Small flyers we handed out at TAFE, Universities, high schools and Centrelink
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Announcements at local schools – newsletter, assembly, enlisting students to put up posters and hand out flyers at lunchtimes
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Contacted Health/community and youth centers
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Local community notice boards gig galaxy
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Local papers ‘Darwin and Palmerston Sun’ as well as community radio ‘Radio Larrakia.’ (At the same time we raise awareness within the community about the HIV/AIDS with young people in the area)
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">We have also advertised in the ‘GRIND Youth Newspaper’, the paper is created by young people for young people
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">We kept our media release short, where we include the five W’s in the first Paragraph — WHO, WHAT, WHY, WHEN and WHERE.
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The Event: **
 * 1) <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Prevention - how to prevent becoming infected with HIV
 * 2) <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Testing - how to find out if you have got HIV
 * 3) <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Transmitted - how is HIV transmitted
 * 4) <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Resources – where you can get more information from

<span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The committee notified the police that the event is coming up, what the event is all about and when it will finish. This will help them deal with complaints and security measures that might arise. If someone calls with a complaint the police can say the organizers have told them about the event, explain the security measures in place and let them know what time the event/noise will end. The committee has requested youth workers, police youth liaison officers, St John Ambulance to the event. We will also confirm their attendance a week before the event occurs. <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">To make sure the event runs smoothly, we have allocated tasks among our self and each task is assigned to someone who understands their responsibilities. The commit also has community workers and volunteers to help out with the setup of the event (there are also responsible for the success of the event.) <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Committee group, as well as community workers and volunteers are signed to the following tasks for the event: <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">In preparing for the project, the committee made sure that the following was a must for the event: <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> French AIDS Awareness Poster
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">picking up of the equipment and supplies
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">selling food and drinks
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">operating the PA system and lighting
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">coordinating performers
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">supervising and walking around and helping out as needed, both inside and outside
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">returning equipment
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">cleaning up after the event
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Plenty of time for set up and clean up of the event.
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Preparing a time sheet for how to take care of staff by providing refreshments and breaks during the event.
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Adequate number of adult supervisors at the day of the event
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Checked local council and fire regulations for the capacity of the venue and will not allow more than 500 people in at any time
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Check the fire exits regularly throughout the night
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Provide free water and everyone attending knows how to access the water
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Where the access is to the toilets (this including the disability toilets)
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Clearly stated it is a drug and alcohol free event in the papers, flyers and on the radio
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The rules of the event have been written on tickets and on all promotional materials
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The event will be held during the day
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Organized bus arrangements to and from the venue for free
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Phone available for people to call home or arrange transport home
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Will work with the security measures already planned, outside fenced areas, secure entry points, etc.
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Security guards, volunteers, a small number of committee members will all be following the security/safety measures and making sure duty of care is met (they will be wearing bright yellow jackets)
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Will only provide drinks in cans, bottles or poppers to help combat Drink-spiking
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Will not give out pass outs (this means that if people leave the event they can’t get back in and prevents people going outside to drink)
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Some of the committee members that are trained in dealing with young people that have difficult situations, we will be clearly visible by wearing bright pink colored t-shits that say “If in trouble? Ask me” both on the back and front of the t-shits. Some young people in trouble will feel more comfortable with another young person and seem more approachable.
 * <span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">We will sell food at the event to keep people from leaving to go elsewhere for a food. This might bring in a little extra money to help pay for our costs and the planning of future events.

<span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> **Evaluation** To judge the success of the event, the committee will have a survey to see how well the information was passed along through to the youth. To achieve this the survey will be offered as a questionaire to youth on their way out of the event. In the survey a list of questions will be asked and the person will be required to answer in a rated format i.e. ** <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">**<span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">□ ** Was the HIV/AIDS information at this event helpful in relation to: <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Prevention of HIV/AIDS……………………………………………………… <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"> □ Do think this event was important for young people and should be conducted as a yearly event? <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">□ Do you have any suggestions for the future running of this event? **<span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> After the event the committee members will write thank you letters to anyone who helped us organize and run the event. **
 * //very poor □  poor □ good □ very good □ excellent □//
 * <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Some questions that the survey will include are: **
 * <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Testing of the diseases………………………………………………………… **
 * <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">How HIV/ADIS are transmitted……………………………………………… **
 * <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Further information in the community………………………………………… **


 * Reference: **
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-themecolor: text1"> 1.  ****<span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-themecolor: text1"> [|www.] nt .gov.au/dcm/youth_affairs/health/sexual_stats.shtml **<span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-themecolor: text1">
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-themecolor: text1"> 2.  ****<span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-themecolor: text1"><span style="COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; TEXT-DECORATION: none; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1; text-underline: none">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uganda  **<span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-themecolor: text1">
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-themecolor: text1"> 3.  ****<span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-themecolor: text1"> [|www.guttmacher.org/]  **
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-themecolor: text1"> 4.  ****<span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-themecolor: text1"><span style="COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; TEXT-DECORATION: none; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1; text-underline: none">[|scienceblogs.com/omnibrain/upload/2007/04/french-aids-posters.jpg]  **<span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-themecolor: text1">
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-themecolor: text1"> 5.  ****<span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-themecolor: text1"><span style="COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; TEXT-DECORATION: none; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1; text-underline: none">[|www.profiles.nlm.nih.gov/]  **
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-themecolor: text1"> 6.  ****<span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-themecolor: text1">profiles.nlm.nih.gov/VC/B/B/G/Y/_/vcbbgy.jpg **<span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-themecolor: text1">
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-themecolor: text1"> 7.  ****<span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-themecolor: text1">www.istockphoto.com **<span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-themecolor: text1">