This event combined the need for HIV testing in the community with the excitement of tournament basketball and the entertainment of some of DC’s hottest local MC’s.

View Photo Album

July 18, 2010 — Avaa ikkunaan Uutisjuttuja: Washington ei tunnu pääsevän eroon synkistä hiv-tilastoistaan! (Translation: MTA’s work was highlighted by the Finnish Broadcasting Company).

June 29, 2010 — MetroTeen AIDS in collaboration with Real Talk DC hosted its fifth annual “Hoop N for HIV” (Link: Examiner.com).

June 24, 2010 — MTA listed among DC-area groups offering free HIV testing as part of Get Yourself Tested Week (Link: ABC News 7).

June 10, 2010 — “New Twist on Sexting: DC Youth Find Safer Sex Info on Their Phones” (Link: sparkaction.org).

April 29, 2010 —The Red Pump Project, an organization which aims to raise awareness about the impact of HIV/AIDS on women and girls, puts the spotlight on MTA (Link: theredpumpproject.com).

February 24, 2010 — MTA and RealTalkDC featured in a story on “Engaging Hard-to-Reach Youth through New Technologies” (Link: sparkaction.org).

August 21, 2009 — Dawn (of Danity Kane) in DC teaching folks how to put a condom on at the Metro TeenAIDS event (Link: thehoodtimes.com).

MORE NEWS

Teaching Teenagers About HIV

Click here to watch MTA Staff member Dwayne Lawson-Brown speak to BBC World News/America about HIV prevention for youth.

Adam Tenner and MTA Featured on the Cover of Metro Weekly

Finding Hope: Adam Tenner of Metro TeenAIDS greets this year’s World AIDS Day with newfound optimism by Will O’Bryan, Metro Weekly, November 26, 2009.

MTA staff speak widely about new HIV/AIDS report in DC

The DC Department of Health released a new HIV/AIDS Epidemiological report which has received widespread media attention. MTA executive director, Adam Tenner was interviewed by Voice of America. He also spoke to WKYS Hip Hop Radio 93.9 as well as WPGC 95.5 where we was accompanied by Director of Community Partnerships and Outreach, Angel Brown. Ms. Brown and Dwayne Lawson Brown (not related) After Schools coordinator, also spoke on WPFW 89.3 fm on MTA’s programs.

Metro TeenAIDS on YouTube:

• Shena Cruickshank speaks about MTA’s Young Women of Color Leadership Council
• Adam Tenner testified at DC City Council
• Dr. Shannon Hader from DC Department of Health, HIV AIDS Administration at a Metro TeenAIDS Get Tested with Go-Go event

Department of Parks and Recreation Announces Metro TeenAIDS as New Programmatic and Park Partnership!

DPR is pleased and excited to welcome nine local organizations as new partners,” said Clark E. Ray, director of DPR. “By partnering with existing community organizations and programs, we are able to expand both what our residents can find at DPR and the positive impact of these programs and organizations.” Read the full story here.

EVEN MORE NEWS

REALtalkDC Social Marketing Campaign mentioned in Chicago Reporter Article: R U Nfected? by Marian Wang.

Cable Positive awards Metro TeenAIDS with top honor in 2008! Read MTA’s press release here.

Metro TeenAIDS mentioned in The Philanthropic Collaborative’s new national report, The Social and Economic Value of Private and Community Foundations, about the effectiveness of philanthropic activities around the country.

AIDS in DC: Turning Anger Into Action: D.C. Residents Sound the Alarm on AIDS in the Nation’s Capital. ABC Nightline, November 23, 2007.

Metro TeenAIDS hosted 3rd Annual “Get Tested with GO GO” concert at Turkey Thicket Recreation Center in NE, DC on December 5, 2008. Metro TeenAIDS partnered with the District Department of Parks and Recreation and the Toys for Tots Foundation to hold the concert.

The Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington is proud to announce that Metro TeenAIDS has been selected to be featured in the 2008-09 Catalogue. A panel of 60 expert reviewers from area foundations, corporate giving programs, larger non-profit organizations, and the DC government evaluated nearly 200 applications; Metro TeenAIDS is one of 68 outstanding nonprofits to be featured this year.

MTA Featured in Student Show at the Corcoran: Metro TeenAIDS Youth Center Specialist, Nicole Styles, is featured in a Photodocumentary displayed in a student show on HIV in the District at the Corcoran in April.

Outreach Newsletter Summer 2008. Read our newsletter.

HIV Awareness Program Targets D.C. Students: On Sunday, May 18^th, MTA was featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition, Sunday. If you missed it you can hear the program on the NPR website. Click here to find the article.

Metro TeenAIDS Pairs Education with Ambition by Phillip Lucas, Washington Informer, May 15, 2008. Article focuses on MTA’s hard work to empower youth in Wards 5, 6, 7, and 8 to protect themselves from HIV and interviews our School Services Manager and Youth Center Coordinator.

Teens Receive HIV/AIDS Education by Angela Swinson Lee, Washington Informer, May 7, 2008. MTA peer educators run an HIV outreach and education table at a teen HIV/AIDS education event at Temple of Praise Church in Southeast.

HIV-AIDS Curriculum to Expand in the Fall by Susan Levine, Washington Post, January 17, 2008. The DC State Board of Education, in response to the crisis faced by DC youth, will soon be rolling out a comprehensive HIV curriculum developed with the help of Metro TeenAIDS.

Teen Voices of AIDS by Susan Levine, Washington Post, January 8, 2008. A new book, Teens, HIV and AIDS, edited by Maureen Lyon and Lawrence D’Angelo of Children’s Hospital, bears witness to the lives of HIV positive young people.

Metro TeenAIDS Quick Fact Sheet: Who we are, what we do, and our major accomplishments of 2007.

Event Blends Music, Screening by Delphine Schrank, Washington Post, December 2, 2007.

In an attempt to save young people in DC, Metro TeenAIDS has initiated an incredible campaign that empowers and informs youth to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in Washington DC – it’s called REALtalkDC.

REALtalkDC is a social marketing campaign that empowers young people to Get Tested, Get Educated, and Use Condoms by using social media to combat HIV/AIDS. These multimedia components include:

• A text messaging campaign: “Text ‘REALtalk’ to 61827” – gives information to DC youth about where to access free HIV/STI testing and free condoms.
• A website (realtalkdc.org) provides comprehensive sexual health info.
• Social networking sites: Facebook and MySpace actively push out the message of youth getting tested and knowing their status.
• City-wide ads displayed on buses, the subway, schools and local businesses direct youth to text the campaign and use the website as resources.
• Peer educators are on the streets and on-line reaching more than 1,000 youth per month with sexual health information. They incorporate blogs, video and street outreach to promote the campaign, HIV/STI testing centers and condom use. They are a reflection of the target demographic we want to reach and bring innovative ideas to the campaign, keeping the campaign fresh and current with what is relevant.
• Video is a powerful way to reach youth through YouTube and the REALtalkDC website. The campaign has become more successful because it has tapped into the importance of user-generated content such as videos.

REALtalkDC Campaign Success

After 3 years of executing the REALtalkDC campaign, we know that these elements are effective. During the evaluation of the REALtalkDC campaign in 2009, we found the following:

• 78.8% of tested youth who saw campaign reported being motivated to get tested;
• 57.6% of youth who got tested and texted REALtalk reported that texting motivated their decision to get tested;
• 59.3% of tested youth who went to the website report that the website motivated their decision to get tested.

Just in 2010, the REALtalkDC campaign has accomplished the following:

• Website: 1353 visits to the website in this quarter with 820 of them in the month of June.  The 820 visits is five times more than the number of visits in June 2009! The number of pages per visit has also increased. The revamped REALtalkDC website and associated materials stress STI testing and HIV testing as well as condom use and emphasizes the power of video to attract youth to the website.
• Bus Ad: Nearly 500 bus ads are currently within the WMATA system on buses that frequent Wards 5,6,7 and 8. These bus ads will generate over 2 million media impressions each month of the campaign run.
• Text Campaign: 1,875 text messages total this quarter. In June, there were 1,235 messages sent to “REALtalk,” which is over 6 times what was received in the month of May. The majority of the text messages went to the quiz, which remains to be the most popular part of the text messaging because people like to test their knowledge.

The Facebook page is proving to be a very successful way for the REALtalkDC campaign to promote its events and spread information. There are more visitors and loyal fans of the Facebook page while the REALtalkDC website is gaining much ground on its popularity.

REALtalkDC information was added to MTA’s outreach cards. When our peer educators conduct street outreach, they give a tear off to the person that filled out the card. This tear-off sheet explains that the recipient is eligible to win a $25 gift card if they go to MTA’s Freestyle Youth Center to get tested. REALtalkDC’s texting information is on the card.

Serving over 50 non-AIDS service organizations, Metro TeenAIDS provides a comprehensive approach to adolescent sexual health.

Capacity Building services include:

Training — Formalized workshops on a specific topic, intervention or curriculum, training sessions usually last 1 to 2 days and are held at various locations throughout the District.

Technical Assistance — Ongoing, individualized technical assistance to organizations that are interested in long-term capacity building is available. These services are tailored to the specific needs of the organization and are completed over a longer period of time than training workshops.

Resources – Includes any and all materials provided through trainings, including handouts, PowerPoint Slides, Internet outreach protocols, long-term outside training materials, etc. Check out our 4providers link for more details.

Upcoming Trainings:

AUGUST 11-12: Provider’s Capacity Building Symposium – click HERE to register!

• Request training: contact Isaiah Webster
• Check out our Capacity Blog!
• Check out our Newsletter!: contact Isaiah Webster

Capacity Talk • Contact Us

With near-age peers, highly trained in best practices for engaging youth in conversations about prevention, MTA reaches 3,000 7th and 10th grade students in more than 40 public and public charter schools throughout Washington, D.C each school year.

Curricula include:

• Age appropriate interactive activities and videos
• Condom use demonstrations
• Skills-building exercises, like role playing

Links:

• DCPS Teachers: click HERE (link to come).
• To schedule MPC of BART at your school, click HERE.

 Hear from our students!

“MTA is the best!” —Jewel, 8th grade

“I finally know what HIV does to a person’s body.” —Marcus, 7th grade

“Condoms are cool.” —Gabby, 12th grade

“No glove, no love!” —Tim, 11th grade

“I learned a lot about using condoms.” —Daiquan, 10th grade

Contact Us

These programs focus on leadership development and peer education for youth from local high schools. Peers go through rigorous training on how to talk to their peers about HIV, sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy and much more. The Peer Educators consist of five groups: the StreeTeam, the YWOC (Young Women of Color Leadership Council), STIGMA (Spreading Truth is Gaining Mass Appeal), REALtalk Reps, and the POETS (Peer Outreach Testing and Support).

These young people get the message out to young people that adults just can’t reach! Plus, for many of the young peer educators, working at Metro TeenAIDS is their introduction to the working world and all that comes with it — being on time, following through on your word, working as a team. The work they do is truly remarkable.

For more information contact Fushena Cruickshank.

The center generally hosts 15–25 youth a night, and there’s a wide range of special activities and events. For example, “Where My Girls At?” is a support group for young women in the area held regularly every Wednesday night group for young women. “Floetic Fridays” is a open mic night where youth can perform rap, poetry, singing and more and is held every second Friday in Freestyle. Come down and check out Freestyle! For any other information, please contact Lamar Anderson.

Care Advocacy (Youth Connections)

Our team of young professionals is trained to connect HIV positive young people to life-saving care. Through our Youth Connections program and our close relationship with Children’s National Medical Center, MTA staff are able to provide continuing support to HIV positive teens and young adults.

The symposium is FREE.

WHEN: August 11-12, 2010, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

WHERE: Marvin Center at George Washington University, 800 21st Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20052

CLICK HERE for free registration. Breakfast buffet included.

For more information, contact Isaiah Webster III at 202.543.0094 or by email.  For up-to-date information about capacity building services at Metro TeenAIDS, visit http://www.capacitytalk.blogspot.com.

  CLICK HERE to download the MTA Symposium Flyer (PDF).