Hey there! This is my first blog post, and I was asked to introduce PFY's visitors to an important program that's underway for young gay and bisexual men.
First, about me...I've been working at PFY for about a year as the Prevention Specialist. Prior to that, I was doing HIV outreach, education and counseling/testing to gay men, primarily Latinos, in Queens. That program was called Mpowerment, and I was very excited about the opportunity to conduct similar work in Nassau County.
PFY's Mpowerment program started in June 2010, and I was assigned to coordinate it. This is a program I can really get behind because I have seen how effective it is in promoting healthier behavior and building community.
Mpowerment began on the West Coast in the early 90's, and it was the first HIV prevention intervention certified by the Centers for Disease Control as being effective at reducing HIV transmission among gay and bisexual men. The program has been replicated across the country. It was created by the Center for AIDS Prevention at the University of California/San Francisco, and they estimate that there are 70 Mpowerment programs in operation, in virtually every region of the U.S., from NYC to Los Angeles, and from Miami to Anchorage, Alaska. PFY's Mpowerment is the first time the program has been conducted on Long Island. I had the chance to go to a three-day training in September, and I met people who were running programs in Denver, New Orleans, Minneapolis and many other places.
In a nutshell, Mpowerment has four components: a Core Group of young men, formal outreach such as bar 'zaps' and fun program-sponsored events that bring guys together, informal outreach that occurs one-to-one, and HIV workshops called M-Groups.
I run Mpowerment with two of PFY's Program Leaders: Chris and Jeff. In October, we brought together about ten guys ages 17-24 to participate in our weekly Core Group. The Core Group is basically the centralized decision making body of the program. We have meetings every Wednesday from 6pm to 8pm to discuss how to reach out to other young gay/bi men and to plan events. For example, we started a Facebook account (Facebook.com/MpowermnentLi) where we can get information out, and we utilize Adam4Adam.com to identify and engage with guys in Nassau County who are in the age range. Just last week we held our first bar 'zap' at Gation where we handed out candy and condoms as part of a holiday themed outreach to create a buzz around our project and to get guys interested.
We've got a lot of ideas for the New Year including coming up with our own logo, our own name (Mpowerment-LI is our temporary name, but we'd like something a little catchier), hosting a speed dating event, holding our first HIV workshop, and future seasonal and festive events. Our mission is to involve as many young gay/bisexual men in Nassau County as we can, so if you have ideas, drop me a line: GCunto@longislandcrisiscenter.org.
January 4, 2011
Mpowerment comes to Long Island!! By Galo Cunto
Hey there! This is my first blog post, and I was asked to introduce PFY's visitors to an important program that's underway for young gay and bisexual men.
First, about me...I've been working at PFY for about a year as the Prevention Specialist. Prior to that, I was doing HIV outreach, education and counseling/testing to gay men, primarily Latinos, in Queens. That program was called Mpowerment, and I was very excited about the opportunity to conduct similar work in Nassau County.
PFY's Mpowerment program started in June 2010, and I was assigned to coordinate it. This is a program I can really get behind because I have seen how effective it is in promoting healthier behavior and building community.
Mpowerment began on the West Coast in the early 90's, and it was the first HIV prevention intervention certified by the Centers for Disease Control as being effective at reducing HIV transmission among gay and bisexual men. The program has been replicated across the country. It was created by the Center for AIDS Prevention at the University of California/San Francisco, and they estimate that there are 70 Mpowerment programs in operation, in virtually every region of the U.S., from NYC to Los Angeles, and from Miami to Anchorage, Alaska. PFY's Mpowerment is the first time the program has been conducted on Long Island. I had the chance to go to a three-day training in September, and I met people who were running programs in Denver, New Orleans, Minneapolis and many other places.
In a nutshell, Mpowerment has four components: a Core Group of young men, formal outreach such as bar 'zaps' and fun program-sponsored events that bring guys together, informal outreach that occurs one-to-one, and HIV workshops called M-Groups.
I run Mpowerment with two of PFY's Program Leaders: Chris and Jeff. In October, we brought together about ten guys ages 17-24 to participate in our weekly Core Group. The Core Group is basically the centralized decision making body of the program. We have meetings every Wednesday from 6pm to 8pm to discuss how to reach out to other young gay/bi men and to plan events. For example, we started a Facebook account (Facebook.com/MpowermnentLi) where we can get information out, and we utilize Adam4Adam.com to identify and engage with guys in Nassau County who are in the age range. Just last week we held our first bar 'zap' at Gation where we handed out candy and condoms as part of a holiday themed outreach to create a buzz around our project and to get guys interested.
We've got a lot of ideas for the New Year including coming up with our own logo, our own name (Mpowerment-LI is our temporary name, but we'd like something a little catchier), hosting a speed dating event, holding our first HIV workshop, and future seasonal and festive events. Our mission is to involve as many young gay/bisexual men in Nassau County as we can, so if you have ideas, drop me a line: GCunto@longislandcrisiscenter.org.
