News

The  Jacksonville Area Sexual Minority Youth Network, has released results of the first-ever Survey of Northeast Florida Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Students.  Funded by the Chartrand Foundation and conducted by Dr. Laura Lane for JASMYN, the “Support for Students Project” polled Northeast Florida middle and high school students that identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender or Questioning (LGBTQ) from 26 Northeast Florida schools over a six-month period earlier this year. The survey focused on whether LGBTQ students felt safe in their schools.

“This is the first local school survey reporting on Northeast Florida LGBT students’ perceptions of safety and school climate,” said Watson, “and offers responses from students who are most vulnerable to harassment and violence on school property—a population that is also more likely to dropout. Bullying, verbal and physical abuse and other types of harassment often result in LGBTQ students missing school, which, in turn, impacts dropout rates. Precise dropout rates among LGBT students are difficult to pin down, but the American Psychological Association has estimated that almost a third of LGBT students drop out of high school, more than triple the national rate. For that and other reasons, this survey is allowing us to better identify the local challenges and solutions for this population.”

 Highlights of the survey’s findings include:
• 77% of students report being verbally harassed because of their sexual orientation in the past year.
• 65% of students who reported being verbally harassed did not report it to adults at their school.
• 48% of students reported being bullied on school property during the past year.
• 73% of students hear anti-gay remarks often or frequently.
• Nearly one in five students (19%) report that when staff or teachers are present they never intervene in anti-gay remarks.
• 15% lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning students reported they did not know one supportive teacher or staff member at their school.

 Watson stated that making schools safe places for its most vulnerable students ensures that all students feel respected and comfortable. She went on to say that helping teachers and faculty become more aware of the impact of bullying on all students, along with the specific issues facing LGBTQ youth, has been the impetus behind “Teaching Respect for All—Creating Safe Schools for LGBT Students,” a workshop JASMYN conducts annually for teachers, guidance counselors and school administrators. This year’s workshop, held at the end of October included more than 100 attendees from 30 schools throughout the Northeast Florida area.

 “The response to this workshop was powerful and you could see participants experience ‘a-ha moments’ as they listened to the presenters and student panel, which featured seven high school students from all over Northeast Florida. The survey results reinforce the importance of this type of continuing education for educators,” Watson said.

 For additonal information  contact Cindy Watson at (904) 389-3857 for more information or download the full Support for Students Initiative

The Human Rights Campaign’s Religion and Faith Program and JASMYN, Jacksonville’s organization serving LGBTQ youth, is proud to feature Steve Kunst and Cheryl Stuart for our sacred conversations workshop. Steve and Cheryl come from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America in Tallahassee. They are powerful storytellers trained in helping people engage in often difficult conversations about sexual orientation and gender identity in ways that honor our faith traditions and our relationships with one another. Please join us for a workshop that will empower you to bring needed conversations to your faith community. Light refreshments provided. All are welcome.
 
Thursday, October 27th
6:00 – 8:30 p.m.
 Peace Presbyterian Church
 2300 Southside Blvd.

For more information contact Cindy Watson,
JASMYN Executive Director
at (904) 389-3857

You can visit the bus by stopping by the University of North Florida on  Thursday, October 27th from 11:00 – 2:00 PM. This event is FREE & open to the public. The bus will be located near the Student Union on Osprey Plaza. For more information Click Here!

Brought to you by the UNF LGBT Campus Resource Center & JASMYN

JASMYN Staff and Youth prepare for River City Pride Parade

JASMYN Youth with Pride Posters

ViiV Healthcare Reaffirms Commitment to US Regions Hardest Hit by HIV/AIDS 

Positive Action Southern Initiative Awards Grants to Seven Organizations in Four Additional Southern StatesResearch Triangle Park, N.C. September 26, 2011 — ViiV Healthcare today announced the 2011 grant awardees of the Positive Action Southern Initiative expansion, focused on supporting African-American and Latino populations in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Established in 2010, the initiative focuses on linking people living with HIV into care and/or enhancing their treatment adherence and delaying disease progression.

“Access to adequate resources and support for effective interventions and quality services to fight HIV continues to be a challenge in the southern United States,” said Patrick Packer, Executive Director of the Southern AIDS Coalition. “With these grants, the Positive Action Southern Initiative helps to provide life-saving resources to those who need them most.”

Recent data has shown that African-Americans account for 44 percent of all new HIV infections, and that Hispanics account for 20 percent of all new HIV infections.[i] The southern United States is also disproportionately affected, with present data showing that this region represents nearly half (45 percent) of new AIDS diagnoses, and has the greatest number of people estimated to be living with AIDS.[ii]

Initially piloted in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi, the Southern Initiative is part of ViiV Healthcare’s Positive Action program, a collaborative, community-focused program designed to address gaps in services or programs that support care and treatment adherence among individuals living with HIV/AIDS. ViiV Healthcare is committed to building on the success of the global Positive Action program with efforts to support projects in the United States that address populations most affected by HIV/AIDS.

“ViiV Healthcare is committed to supporting communities most affected by HIV. The local community solutions and programs proposed by our awardees represent realistic goals that will help to lessen the impact of HIV in disproportioned communities,” said Bill Collier, Head of North America, ViiV Healthcare. “The HIV community plays a pivotal role in positively impacting areas in critical need of HIV/AIDS resources, and we are proud to assist these grassroots organizations and programs to further support the care of people living with HIV.”

ViiV Healthcare and community advisors have selected a total of seven organizations to receive grants up to $50,000 per year over the next two years to support their programs specifically focused on reducing disparities in HIV/AIDS linkages to care and treatment among African-American and Latinos in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

The following organizations were selected as grant awardees:

 BASIC NWFL, based in Panama City, FL will enhance its U R Connected program and its three core components of Positive Education, Positive Referral and Positive Connection, which uniquely address the obstacles that prevent access to quality care and treatment adherence for people living with HIV/AIDS in this generally rural area.·        

Care Resource (or Community AIDS Resource), based in Miami, FL, will enhance its Intervention – Assertive Community Treatment for Women of Color (I-ACT) program to support mental health services to address the unmet mental health needs for participating African-American and Latino women who have been affected by HIV/AIDS.·        

Jacksonville Area Sexual Minority Youth Network, Inc. (JASMYN), based in Jacksonville, FL, will enhance its Safety Net Program with services to better address the challenges of linkage to care for HIV positive Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) youth and to prevent homelessness by providing training in motivational interviewing and medical case management.·        

Nashville CARES, based in Nashville, TN, will enhance its Healthy U program, which trains people living with HIV/AIDS as peer mentors to improve health literacy and management of treatment, medication and health needs.   

RAIN, Inc. (Regional AIDS Interfaith Network), based in Charlotte, NC, will support a critical gap in case management services for those clients who are no longer eligible for Medical Case Management but continue to need support.        

South Carolina HIV/AIDS Council, based in Columbia, SC, will expand its PHARAOH intervention program to support incarcerated HIV-positive African-American men preparing for release from the state’s prison system. ·        

WellFlorida Council Inc., based in Gainesville, FL, will establish a new peer-based approach to its Consumer Access Peer Educator (CAPE) program focused on HIV-positive Hispanic and women of color and their access to health services. Peer-delivered strategies will help to overcome barriers through a tailored curriculum and recruitment/training process to enhance linkages to care.

About ViiV Healthcare’s Positive Action Program
When Positive Action was created in 1992 it was the first pharmaceutical company program of its kind to support communities affected by HIV and AIDS. The program targets its funds towards community-focused projects that reach those most affected by HIV, particularly in marginalized or vulnerable populations. These include youth, women and girls, sex workers, injection drug users, MSM, the incarcerated, transgender and gay men. Positive Action works to build capacity in these communities to enable them to tackle stigma and discrimination, to test innovations in education, care and treatment, and to deliver greater and meaningful involvement of people living with HIV.

In 2010 Positive Action worked with 18 partners affecting communities in 50 countries around the globe. www.viivhealthcare.com/community.aspx

About ViiV Healthcare
ViiV Healthcare is a global specialist HIV company established by GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK.L) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) to deliver advances in treatment and care for people living with HIV.  Our aim is to take a deeper and broader interest in HIV/AIDS than any company has done before, and take a new approach to deliver effective and new HIV medicines as well as support communities affected by HIV.  For more information on the company, its management, portfolio, pipeline and commitment, please visit www.viivhealthcare.com.

[i] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fact Sheet. Estimates of New HIV Infections in the United States, 2006–2009. Published August 3, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2011 from http://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/docs/HIV-Infections-2006-2009.pdf

[ii] Kaiser Family Foundation. Fact Sheet. The HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the United States. Published June 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2011 from http://www.kff.org/hivaids/upload/3029-12.pdf

Visit Viiv Healthcare for additonal information

Real Talk – Real Solutions – Real Action. That is what JASMYN is offering youth during its 2nd cycle of its Street Smart programming for youth ages 13-23.   Street Smart believes that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth need accurate and up-to-date information and resources.

It is a fun, interactive & educational  group that uses realistic scenarios that are familiar to LGBT youth in our community for thoughtful discussion. Through discussions and role-playing members identify  risk situations and behaviors and talk through the potential harmful impact on youth lives and futures. Street Smart will teach youth to create messages that will create positive change individually and for our community.

October Street Smart Program Scheudle:

“Relationships” get Street Smart!  Tuesady October 11, 2011. 4pm-7pm

When it comes to RELATIONSHIPS how Street Smart are you? When you are at a party, around friends, or even around strangers is your behavior influenced by the people around you? If so how? How easy is it to talk about sex and safety with someone you really like and want to be with?

“Sex and Substances” get Street Smart!  Wednesday October 12, 2011 4pm-7pm
When it comes to Drugs and Sex how Street Smart are you? When you are at a party, around friends, or even around strangers is your behavior influenced by the people around you? If so how? How easy is it to talk about sex and safety with someone you really like and want to be with?  When it comes to dealing with your feelings/emotions how Street Smart are you? Rejection, fear, anxiety… there are so many ways that we all cope with different situations. When you are at a party, around friends, or even around strangers is the way you feel about yourself influenced by the people around you? If so how? How easy is it to talk about your feelings when it comes to sex and safety with someone you really like and want to be with? 

 ”Dealing with Feelings” get Street Smart!  Tuesday October 18, 2011 4pm-7pm

 ”The Negotiation” get Street Smart! Wednesday October 19, 2011 4pm-7pm
When it comes to Negotiating with people how Street Smart are you? When you are at a party, around friends, or even around strangers is your behavior influenced by the people around you? If so how? How easy is it to talk about sex and drugs with someone you really like and want to be with? What kind of ways do you prep yourself or self talk yourself in order to deal with certain people or situations? 
 
“Street Smart Street Talk” Tuesday October 25, 2011 4pm-7pm
 Join us for this informal conversation to strengthen skills we have learned and information that we have previously talked about. This is an open forum for you to talk about the impact in your lives and add to the conversation!  
 
“Media Message Party!” Let’s Tell Them What’s Up in Street Smart! Wednesday October 26, 2011 4pm-7pm
This is our last night of Street Smart, so we absolutely have to have a party! But before we celebrate the memories of all the fun we had during this cycle of street smart, you get to be a part of a media message! YES! IT IS YOUR TIME TO SHINE IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA! You will get a chance to be a part of filming a media message in order to show others what you learned in Street Smart! Don’t miss out on the opportunity to let your friends know what’s up!

For more information about Street Smart contact Sarah Clinton, Street Smart Coordinator at (904) 389-3857 ext 211