July 22, 2009, San Francisco, CA: ISIS, Inc., has partnered with the San Francisco Department of Public Health’s Youth United Through Health Education (YUTHE) Program to host an event series for youth aged 15 – 25 years old and their families in the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood of San Francisco,.
Called Get Live, Stay Live, the series will focus on youth culture – music, art, fashion, and spoken word – combined with awareness-raising activities about the importance of sexual health. The first Get Live, Stay Live event will kick-off this summer at the Bayview Opera House on July 25th with an all-ages concert featuring local hip-hop, rap, and DJ talent.
Community engagement and survey meetings revealed that concerns around violence, poverty and education outweighed sexual health as a priority among young people in the Bayview-Hunters Point. Youth also indicated that looking good, having the right clothing and supporting the local community were important to them. With this in mind, ISIS and YUTHE, informed by neighborhood youth, created Get Live, Stay Live to showcase the wealth of talent in the neighborhood while breaking down barriers and stigmas associated with visiting clinics and taking charge of one’s own sexual health.
Promotional materials distributed before the event encourage youth to get a sexual health checkup at a local clinic in exchange for free admission and VIP access. A mobile teen health van will also be on-site to provide education, testing and referral services.
Get Live, Stay Live ringtones and wallpaper will be distributed free of charge via bluetooth technology to attendees’ mobile phones at the event, giving youth a lasting reminder to take care of their sexual health. Participating clinic information and Get Live, Stay Live event updates are also available via mobile phone by text-ing SexINFO to 61827.
Get Live, Stay Live is an exciting new way to reach young people with critical sexual health information, raising awareness around regular sexual health checkups and promising to bridge the gap between traditional peer-to-peer outreach and the cultural elements that are relevant to young people’s lives.
ISIS Inc (Internet Sexuality Information Services) is a 501(c)3 organization based in Oakland, CA whose mission is to use technology, new media and mobile for sexual health promotion and disease prevention. ISIS’ award-winning projects include SexINFO and Hookup text messaging campaigns, inSPOT, an STD ecard partner notification service, and Sex::Tech, an annual conference focusing on sexual health, technology and youth.
Youth United through Health Education (YUTHE), established in 1997, is a community-based, peer-led STD prevention program to increase STD testing among African-American young people aged 12-24 residing in the Bayview Hunters-Point neighborhood. Peer educators receive 60 hours of standardized training, and ongoing weekly booster training with mentors.
Contact Information:
Deb Levine, ISIS, Inc. 415-215-6184, deb@isis-inc.org
Margaret Lucas, ISIS, Inc. 510-835-9400, margaret@isis-inc.org
Links: ISIS, Inc: www.isis-inc.org
Get Live, Stay Live website: www.getlivestaylive.org
San Francisco Department of Public Health: www.sfcityclinic.org
