Brushstrokes of Hope: Empowering New Hampshire Youth Through Sexual Risk Avoidance Education and Positive Youth Development. Every Brushstroke Builds A Brighter Tomorrow - Hammar's Art Studio & Cultural Center, LLC, located in Salem, New Hampshire, proposes to implement Brushstrokes of Hope, a Title V Competitive Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE) initiative serving adolescents ages 10–19 residing in Hillsborough and Rockingham Counties, New Hampshire, including the communities of Manchester, Nashua, and Salem. The project will deliver medically accurate, age-appropriate, evidence-based Sexual Risk Avoidance Education that promotes healthy relationships, personal responsibility, self-regulation, refusal skills, goal setting, future orientation, and voluntary abstinence from non-marital sexual activity. Over the 24-month project period, Brushstrokes of Hope will serve at least 270 youth annually through a minimum of 12 participant cohorts, building on the organization's current Title V-funded project period, during which it has already served 267 youth. Amiko Youth Center has provided a signed letter of commitment documenting its partnership with the project (see Appendix K), and additional implementation sites — including area schools, municipalities, and youth-serving organizations — will continue to expand access as programming grows. The project will deliver the complete REAL Essentials® – Starting Point curriculum with fidelity to all six statutory Title V purposes (A–F), reinforced through the Brushstrokes of Hope Teach–Reflect–Reinforce model, which incorporates guided reflection, creative expression, and Positive Youth Development principles without modifying the approved curriculum. Implementation will be led by a Project Director and a Certified REAL Essentials® Facilitator, supported by an Assistant Facilitator responsible for participant engagement, attendance tracking, and classroom support. Through this approach, Brushstrokes of Hope seeks to strengthen healthy relationships and protective factors, improve personal responsibility and future orientation, and expand access to evidence-based Sexual Risk Avoidance Education throughout southern New Hampshire, building directly on organizational systems, certified facilitators, and performance management processes already established during the current Title V project period.
