Healthy Relationships MATTER will provide sexual risk avoidance education to 700 high-need youth, annually, in grades 7-12 in Lee, Prentiss, and Pontotoc counties, Mississippi. - PROJECT ABSTRACT SUMMARY Project Title: Healthy Relationships MATTER Applicant Name: Aiming for Healthy Families, Inc. Address: 609 North Fillmore Street, Corinth, MS 38834 Phone: 662-284-9930 Email: cgowen@aiming4hf.org Website: www.aiming4hf.org Proposed Project and Need: Aiming for Healthy Families, Inc. (AFHF) proposes a General Department Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (GD-SRAE) program called Healthy Relationships MATTER which will serve 700 unduplicated youth in grades 7-12 and 75 parents, annually, in the three northeast Mississippi (MS) counties of Lee, Prentiss, and Pontotoc. MS youth, particularly those within target communities, face significant challenges. MS has ranked highest in the nation for teen births for the past three consecutive years, with a current rate of 22.8 (per 1,000, ages 15-19), effectively doubling the national rate of 11.7. Teen birth rates in target counties Lee, Prentiss, and Pontotoc all alarmingly exceed the state rate. Furthermore, MS ranks 2nd in the U.S. for Chlamydia infections, 3rd for Syphilis infections, and 5th for Gonorrhea infections and new Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) diagnoses. All target counties are increasing in nearly all Sexually Transmitted Diseases and HIV at an overall faster rate than the nation. Compounded with high poverty, high-risk behaviors, and vulnerable priority populations, the youth to be served by Healthy Relationships MATTER have a strong need for GD-SRAE programming. Proposed Services: Healthy Relationships MATTER will provide evidence-based, medically accurate, and age-appropriate programming that will encourage youth to avoid nonmarital sexual activity and other risky behaviors by implementing the Choosing the Best (JOURNEY, PATH, and LIFE) curricula along with Money Habitudes 2 for Young Adults and Money Habitudes for Teens curricula. High school students who have never received prior GD-SRAE instruction (grades 9-12) will receive 12 hours of education; middle school students (grades 7-8) will receive 10 hours. All programming will adhere to GD-SRAE requirements and align with ACF priority areas. School districts and community partners with signed MOUs include Lee County, Prentiss County, Baldwyn, Booneville, and Pontotoc County school districts, Boys and Girls Club of North MS, United Way of Northeast MS, Youth Villages, Faith Haven, SAFE, Inc., Northeast MS Community College Career Development Academy, Lee County Sheriff’s Office- Youth Division, and Prentiss County Sheriff’s Office. Letters of Support are provided by Mississippi Attorney General, Lynn Fitch, MS Congressman Trent Kelly, MS Senator Roger Wicker, and the MS Coalition Against Human Trafficking. Evaluation and Research Questions: A qualified evaluation team will collect, track, and monitor progress towards meeting project objectives, while completing both local and federal reporting requirements. Select evaluative research questions include what youth outcomes are reported regarding sexual risk avoidance, protective skills, human trafficking awareness, healthy relationships, and future orientation, including family, education, and employment.
