The Paterson (NJ) / Montclair State University Substance Misuse, HIV, and Viral Hepatitis (VH) Prevention Navigator Initiative for Racial/Ethnic Minorities Ages 13-24 - Project C.O.P.E. at Montclair State University seeks to develop and coordinate comprehensive, evidence-based, substance misuse, HIV, and VH prevention navigation services in the city of Paterson, New Jersey. Population to be served: Black/African American and Hispanic/Latinx youth (13–18) and young adults (19–24), particularly those at highest risk for substance use and HIV, including (but not limited to) LGBTQ, Young Men Who Have Sex with Men (YMSM), and Young Men Who Have Sex with Men and Women (YMSMW). Project Strategies/Interventions: This project will adopt a multi-tiered prevention strategy that incorporates intensive case management, evidence-based prevention education, and social marketing and awareness campaigns. The evidence-based practices (EBPs) to be utilized by our Prevention Navigation Team are Choosing Life: Empowerment!, Action!, Results! (CLEAR), Combination Intervention Strategy (CIS), Mpowerment, Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT), and Say It Straight (SIS). Project goals and measurable objectives: Using a navigation approach, the goals of this initiative are to 1) increase the capacity for integrated substance misuse, HIV, and VH prevention navigation activities resulting in linkages to service provision; 2) increase service utilization and participation in substance misuse, HIV, and VH intensive case management, testing, and treatment services to improve health-related outcomes; and 3) decrease the incidence of substance misuse, HIV, and VH infection rates among our target population. Key objectives to accomplish throughout the project include: 1) expand the network of partnering agencies that provide substance use screening, HIV/STI/VH testing, and prevention interventions that incorporate EBPs; and increase opportunities for empowerment through shared decision-making and advocacy, positioning youth and young adults to become Navigation Ambassadors who can assist with outreach in their community; 2) enhance access to services and opportunities for behavioral health screening, HIV/STI/VH testing, and linkage to treatment, as well as housing status screening and referral services; and 3) increase access to and use of EBPs to promote protective factors, such as facilitating positive behavioral change, improving social norms, and reducing stigma. The project will provide intensive case management services to a core group of 50 youth and young adults identified as high risk and/or People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) on an annual basis (250 by Year 5). Our proposed initiative will also administer evidence-based prevention education to approximately 400 program participants annually (2,000 youth and young adults by Year 5). Environmental prevention strategies, such as health promotion campaigns and community health forums, will incorporate substance misuse, HIV and VH awareness, education, and prevention messaging, and reach approximately 20,000 Paterson residents each year (100,000+ by Year 5). This project will be rigorously evaluated to assess its impact in reducing the multitude of health disparities impacting this resource poor urban community.
