Making Positive Choices


	Two years ago, the future seemed as bleak as the past for Arreana, a Detroit, Michigan, teenager. She had been in and out of foster homes for several years. “I went into the foster care system when I was 8 because of an abusive situation at home and eventually ended up in an all girls’ home. At one point, I wanted to give up. And when bad things happened to me, I didn’t know how to speak up for or protect myself.” Staff at the girls’ home recognized Arreana’s potential and signed her up for the Girl Smart program offered by Alternatives For Girls (AFG). The program was developed by AFG through a grant provided by National AIDS Fund (NAF) and Johnson & Johnson. It includes six sessions that help girls and young women learn about sexually transmitted infections (STIs), develop confidence and cope with difficult situations. “The program gives the girls the information and skills they need to make positive behavior choices. It teaches them how to protect themselves, and how to say ‘no’ when they are being pressured into an unhealthy decision,” says Ruthie Davis, an AFG staff member. Targeting Girls and Women at Risk The AFG Girl Smart program was developed and launched with help from GENERATIONS: Strengthening Women and Families Affected by HIV/AIDS, a public-private partnership between Johnson & Johnson and NAF. AFG and seven other organizations received grants from 2007 to 2009 to build innovative HIV prevention programs that target high-risk girls and women. The eight community-based organizations serve the most vulnerable populations, such as African-American women and girls who don’t know they are at risk for HIV, immigrant Asian and Latina women, homeless and runaway girls, injection drug users, incarcerated women, and female partners of incarcerated men. Collectively, the eight GENERATIONS II grantees reached over 1,000 women and girls. “The GENERATIONS program is both a reflection of the Johnson & Johnson commitment to communities and an extension of the NAF’s philosophy that the most effective responses to the HIV epidemic take place at the community level,” says Suzanne Kinsky, NAF Program Officer. For Arreana, the Girl Smart prevention program “motivated me to be the best and healthiest person I can be.” Now, she’s serving as a facilitator for the Girl Smart program and an inspiration for other teens. “I tell them: This is my story, but the rest of my life is what I make it.” To see the final report of the Generations II project, visit http://www.aidsfund.org/community-impact/generations/. Learn More www.aidsfund.org

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Making Positive Choices

	Two years ago, the future seemed as bleak as the past for Arreana, a Detroit, Michigan, teenager. She had been in and out of foster homes for several years. “I went into the foster care system when I was 8 because of an abusive situation at home and eventually ended up in an all girls’ home. At one point, I wanted to give up. And when bad things happened to me, I didn’t know how to speak up for or protect myself.” Staff at the girls’ home recognized Arreana’s potential and signed her up for the Girl Smart program offered by Alternatives For Girls (AFG). The program was developed by AFG through a grant provided by National AIDS Fund (NAF) and Johnson & Johnson. It includes six sessions that help girls and young women learn about sexually transmitted infections (STIs), develop confidence and cope with difficult situations. “The program gives the girls the information and skills they need to make positive behavior choices. It teaches them how to protect themselves, and how to say ‘no’ when they are being pressured into an unhealthy decision,” says Ruthie Davis, an AFG staff member. Targeting Girls and Women at Risk The AFG Girl Smart program was developed and launched with help from GENERATIONS: Strengthening Women and Families Affected by HIV/AIDS, a public-private partnership between Johnson & Johnson and NAF. AFG and seven other organizations received grants from 2007 to 2009 to build innovative HIV prevention programs that target high-risk girls and women. The eight community-based organizations serve the most vulnerable populations, such as African-American women and girls who don’t know they are at risk for HIV, immigrant Asian and Latina women, homeless and runaway girls, injection drug users, incarcerated women, and female partners of incarcerated men. Collectively, the eight GENERATIONS II grantees reached over 1,000 women and girls. “The GENERATIONS program is both a reflection of the Johnson & Johnson commitment to communities and an extension of the NAF’s philosophy that the most effective responses to the HIV epidemic take place at the community level,” says Suzanne Kinsky, NAF Program Officer. For Arreana, the Girl Smart prevention program “motivated me to be the best and healthiest person I can be.” Now, she’s serving as a facilitator for the Girl Smart program and an inspiration for other teens. “I tell them: This is my story, but the rest of my life is what I make it.” To see the final report of the Generations II project, visit http://www.aidsfund.org/community-impact/generations/. Learn More www.aidsfund.org

Two years ago, the future seemed as bleak as the past for Arreana, a Detroit, Michigan, teenager. She had been in and out of foster homes for several years. “I went into the foster care system when I was 8 because of an abusive situation at home and eventually ended up in an all girls’ home. At one point, I wanted to give up. And when bad things happened to me, I didn’t know how to speak up for or protect myself.”

Staff at the girls’ home recognized Arreana’s potential and signed her up for the Girl Smart program offered by Alternatives For Girls (AFG). The program was developed by AFG through a grant provided by National AIDS Fund (NAF) and Johnson & Johnson. It includes six sessions that help girls and young women learn about sexually transmitted infections (STIs), develop confidence and cope with difficult situations.

“The program gives the girls the information and skills they need to make positive behavior choices. It teaches them how to protect themselves, and how to say ‘no’ when they are being pressured into an unhealthy decision,” says Ruthie Davis, an AFG staff member.

Targeting Girls and Women at Risk
The AFG Girl Smart program was developed and launched with help from GENERATIONS: Strengthening Women and Families Affected by HIV/AIDS, a public-private partnership between Johnson & Johnson and NAF. AFG and seven other organizations received grants from 2007 to 2009 to build innovative HIV prevention programs that target high-risk girls and women. The eight community-based organizations serve the most vulnerable populations, such as African-American women and girls who don’t know they are at risk for HIV, immigrant Asian and Latina women, homeless and runaway girls, injection drug users, incarcerated women, and female partners of incarcerated men. Collectively, the eight GENERATIONS II grantees reached over 1,000 women and girls.

“The GENERATIONS program is both a reflection of the Johnson & Johnson commitment to communities and an extension of the NAF’s philosophy that the most effective responses to the HIV epidemic take place at the community level,” says Suzanne Kinsky, NAF Program Officer.

For Arreana, the Girl Smart prevention program “motivated me to be the best and healthiest person I can be.” Now, she’s serving as a facilitator for the Girl Smart program and an inspiration for other teens. “I tell them: This is my story, but the rest of my life is what I make it.”

To see the final report of the Generations II project, visit http://www.aidsfund.org/community-impact/generations/.

Learn More
www.aidsfund.org

Employees