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On the third floor of a quiet office building in Dorchester's Codman Square, a revolution is taking place. Along with an office at One Brigham Circle, this is a meeting place for the members of Youth for Prevention, Action and Change Through Thought (YPACT), a two-year-old program founded by BWH's Division of Social Medicine and Health Inequalities (DSMHI) and Partners in Health (PIH).
Members are 13- to 20-year-old African-American and Latino students in and around Boston affected everyday by community problems, including the spread of AIDS, violence, drug use and teen pregnancy. In fact, 92 percent of the group's members are sexually active, but 82 percent know nothing about HIV transmission upon entry into the program. Frustrated with the status quo, the members of YPACT have taken the responsibility of AIDS prevention into their own hands. This is their revolution.
“All these students have a chance to participate in health education and see that not only health professionals, but all citizens have a stake in making sure everyone in their communities enjoys good health,” said Dr. Paul Farmer, DSMHI's division chief and co-founder of PIH.
Step 1: Personal Change Youth-driven personal and community change are the crux of YPACT. Personal revolution comes first. “We have to better ourselves before we take on anything bigger,” explained Nakeeda Burns, one of four youth leaders paid a competitive hourly wage for outreach work.
Jina Jibrin, YPACT director and co-founder with DSMHI's Dr. Heidi Behforouz, facilitates such growth with one-on-one and group discussions that teach harm reduction. Recognizing that abstinence from sex and drugs is not always a realistic expectation, this approach arms youth with information about their choices and practical ways to stay safe.
The atmosphere Jibrin has created keeps students coming back to improve themselves and their communities. She expects them to speak exactly as they do outside. She embraces their music and prompts discussion of the lyrics in terms of the social justice issues deeply rooted in hip hop culture. “We get real deep here,” said youth leader Radames Martinez.
Members run the meetings and the projects, enabling personal change during the process, said Jibrin. “They come here and self-empower.”
Step 2: Leadership Development Developing leadership skills is the revolution's next stage. Jibrin requires all members “teach back” to the group after they read an article or receive new information. This way, they put the information into their unique voices using skits, raps, dances and other methods that will help them reach their peers outside of the program.
The group's chief leadership project this summer was distributing “How I View,” a documentary (filmed and produced by members) about AIDS that reveals a glimpse into their lives. “We showed the people most important in our lives and their futures,” said Martinez. “There's a connection between them and (the spread of) HIV.”
Step 3: Community Outreach Once they master leadership, the third stage, community organization, begins to occur naturally. This proved true after the group attended a Unite Against AIDS conference at Harvard. Struck by the urgency of the message, students took the discussion to their school classrooms, teachers reported to Jibrin. “That's the marker for me that this is working outside our walls,” she said.
As YPACT members become more vocal and organize outreach programs for others, they capture the interest of peers. A grant this year enabled the program to double its membership to 40, yet 52 at-risk students referred by their friends, teachers and guidance counselors remain on a waiting list.
Lack of funding also limits YPACT's outreach efforts. The leaders would like to show their documentary in schools as a discussion tool and place public service announcements on trains and billboards, among other AIDS prevention campaigns. They were recently invited to teach a workshop at the Harm Reduction Coalition in New York this September, but cannot afford to send everyone. “We're trying to make a change, but we need help,” said member Ebonee Mills.
Guided by the idea of a safer tomorrow, they'll keep fighting their revolution.
“We have to revolutionize everything,” said member William Glass, Jr. “The world we live in right now isn't fair, but maybe in the future it will be. Maybe.”
To learn more about YPACT, visit www.ypact.com To obtain a copy of the “HowI View” video, email Jibrin at jjibrin@partners.org