Projects

Family Preservation

The objective of this project is for NIWHRC to partner with three Native American communities to train local community members to deliver “WellSpeak – Building Intergenerational Communications about Healthy Sexuality” curriculum in three communities and promote awareness in the three communities on the importance of communication between youth and adults on healthy sexuality education.

The three communities that NIWHRC has partnerships with to deliver the “WellSpeak” curriculum are:

  • Native American Youth and Family Center, Portland, OR
  • Indigenous Peoples Task Force, Minneapolis, MN
  • American Indian Child Resource Center, Oakland, CA

Females and males ages 12-18 will be brought together with their parents/caregiver at each of the partnering communities for 16 hours of interactive activities such as role-playing, brainstorming, skill-building activities, and small group discussion to provide youth education on healthy sexuality that will result in youth and parents learning together the value of healthy relationships and marriages.

Straight Talk on Preventing HIV

The goal of this project is to develop a cross-generational HIV/AIDS comprehensive prevention education(including physical health, emotional health, and sexual health) approach specific to women at risk for or living with HIV/AIDS and other female members of the family 12 + years old, such as are grandmothers, mothers, daughters, granddaughters, and aunts where there is a high population of American Indian and Alaska Natives. The project focuses on health communication patterns that build on trusting familial relationships and incorporate gender-focused, age-specific, culturally competent, and linguistically appropriate HIV/AIDS prevention information.

In Community Spirit

The goal of this “In Community Spirit” proposal is to increase HIV prevention knowledge and reduce the risk of contracting HIV among Native/American Indian and Alaskan Native (AI/AN) women living in Indian Country using multi-level interventions and approaches. The proposal is to develop and sustain HIV prevention service to increase awareness of and receptivity to HIV prevention information among AI/AN women living in rural and frontier Indian Country experiencing high rates of HIV infection within female populations. The prevention activities will support and promote women receiving a test to find out their status. The National Indian Women’s Health Resource Center has partnerships with two Community Partners: HIV Education and Resource Training (HEART Coalition) and the Cherokee Nation. The Community Partner’s coordinators will recruit women to receive the HIV/AIDS training that is gender specific. A certified counselor will be present at all the trainings providing testing.

Preventing Risky Behaviors among Minority College Students

The purpose of the Minority Community HIV/AIDS Partnership: Preventing Risky Behaviors Among Minority College Students is to demonstrate the effectiveness of partnerships in improving the health status, relative to HIV/AIDS, of young adults, particularly racial and ethnic minorities by eliminating disparities. Through this FY 2010 announcement, the OMH will support partnerships between national minority-serving organizations, community based healthcare facilities, and minority serving institutions, particularly those with a demonstrated history of serving minority populations, such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and other accredited minority-serving post-secondary institutions. This program promotes the implementation of promising practices and model programs targeting minority communities.

Health & Wellness Initiative for Women

National Indian Women’s Health Resource Center (NIWHRC) proposes to partner with Northeastern State University (NSU) for the purpose of addressing the health of young, minority women targeting American Indian/Alaska Native women. A formal agreement has been executed that cites each entities roles and responsibilities. NSU has the highest Native American population attending a four year college in the United States. The NSU Student Health Services, which is in the Student Affairs division of the university, will be the primary contact. A co-project director will be hired by the NSU to coordinate the Health & Wellness Initiative on campus. The NIWHRC staff will be in a facilitative and support role to ensure that all the goals and objectives are met.

The three major components and goals of the Health & Wellness project are:

  • Overall Women’s Health and Wellness promotion
  • HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention
  • Ending Violence Against Women (EVAW)

NIWHRC and NSU will have five Secondary Partners: Help in Crisis, a domestic violence/sexual assault organization that provide prevention, individual and group counseling support, and operates a shelter; Green Country HIV/AIDS Coalition will provide HIV testing, counseling and referral; Cherokee Nation will provide well women screening’s, WIC and substance abuse services; Cherokee County Health Department will provide testing, treatment, and reporting of STD’S; and American Indian Resource Center will assist with educational counseling. These partners will all have a role in the goals and objectives of the project.