Youth RISE Program - The Wholistic Stress Control Institute, Inc. (WSCI), a non-profit community-based organization, seeks funding through the Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE) Grant to implement the Youth RISE (Reducing Issues while Striving for Success) Project SRAE program. The aim is to equip 1,500 vulnerable youth, aged 10-19, including those pregnant, or parenting, with the skills to voluntarily abstain from non-marital sexual activity and prevent other risky behaviors. The program, spanning from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2027, will offer an evidence-based SRAE curriculum, multifaceted youth development strategies, and a peer-led SREA outreach and social media campaign. Proposed Services: The Youth RISE Project will employ a wholistic approach grounded in social learning theory. It will emphasize the personal and societal benefits of personal responsibility, self regulation, goal setting, healthy decision-making, healthy relationships, stress management, and abstaining from sex and other risky behaviors such as underage drinking and illicit drug use, without normalizing teen sexual activity. Utilizing age-appropriate and medically accurate curricula, the program will also focus on success sequence strategies for poverty prevention and self-sufficiency, resisting sexual coercion and dating violence, and comprehensive case management for academic and personal support services. Population to be Served: The program aims to serve 1,500 youth over three years, including high-risk, pregnant and parenting, homeless, and juveniles. The program will also collaborate with the participating school staff, parents, and the community at large to provide a greater impact and sustainable program.
