Youth GPS: A Navigator-Based Program for Substance Abuse Education and HIV/HCV Prevention - Youth GPS, a multicomponent project developed in collaboration with the University of Florida (UF), uses a novel web-based tool to assess and mitigate the impact of alcohol use and HIV risk behaviors in minority urban youth and young adults (YYA) in Hillsborough County, a high HIV incidence Florida locality. The project will be centered at the Ybor Youth Clinic (YYC), a community-based, inner city clinic offering sexually transmitted infection (STI) and HIV testing and treatment to vulnerable YYA aged 13 to 24, and at the University of South Florida Pediatric HIV Program (USF Program).Youth GPS will build on these program's well-established HIV risk reduction initiatives through the addition of a navigator-administered, web-based tool developed at UF, Motivating Alcohol Prevention and Safe Sex (MAPSS). Other components will focus on increasing HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV) testing, insuring linkage to care for HIV, HCV, and substance misuse treatment, and informing the community of the need for screening for HIV and HCV, substance misuse, and sexual risk behaviors in minority YYA. Since its founding in 2012, the YYC has rapidly become a distinct leader in offering and coordinating comprehensive services to youth living with HIV/AIDS or at risk for HIV/STIs in Hillsborough County. Its location, as a storefront clinic in a zip code with one of the county's highest HIV incidence rates, makes it easily accessible to its intended population. The clinic's well trained, culturally and linguistically competent, multidisciplinary staff provide a wide range of medical care and support services to youth who might not otherwise access the healthcare system. Youth GPS will build upon the YYC's unique position as a part of the mature infrastructure of the USF Program, a partner with the Hillsborough County Department of Health (DOH), and a collaborator with multiple community organizations by providing funds for much needed interventions to address substance use in clinic patients. In 2018, the YYC had 1945 clinic visits and in 2019, is on pace to exceed 2000. In 2018, demographic information showed that 43% of patients were Black, 10% mixed race, 1.6% American Indian, and 30% reported being Hispanic. Approximately one third of the 860 males were young men having sex with men (YMSM) or bisexual and 13 youth identified as transgender males to females. So far this year, we have diagnosed nine new HIV infections and 15 to 20% of our youth routinely test positive for an STI. Youth GPS will target our minority youth seeking walk-in HIV/STI testing and is expected to reach 450 YYA in its first year and over 2400 throughout the lifetime of the project. In addition, we will also use the MAPSS tool for minority patients being treated by the USF Program, impacting an additional 50 youth living with HIV yearly. The $200,000 requested in this proposal will fund activities targeting Black and Hispanic heterosexuals and YMSM who make up a significant portion of YYC clients. However, our eventual goal is to use this experience to create a blueprint for incorporating effective substance misuse interventions into services for our entire population of underserved youth.
