Women's Fund Supports DIVAS
December 15, 2010, Utica ~ (from left) Women’s Fund Grants Co-Chair Aileen Townsend, ACR’s Mamie Smith, Prevention Director, Wenona Wake, ACR Executive Director Michael Crinnin, Stephanie Eghigian, Executive Director of The Women’s Fund, and Wil Murtaugh, Deputy Executive Director of ACR.
ACR receives grant for HIV education for girls
The Women's Fund of Herkimer and Oneida Counties, Inc. presented AIDS Community Resources (ACR) with a grant for $3,820 to support DIVAS programming in the Mohawk Valley. AIDS Community Resources’ DIVAS program is a valuable resource for families who don’t feel comfortable or adequate to teach their children valuable life lessons about health and safety. DIVAS (Discovering Important and Valuable information About Self) educates girls of all ethnicities, ages 13-18, using the BART curriculum (Becoming A Responsible Teen).
“The mission of the Women’s Fund is to improve the lives of women and girls in the Mohawk Valley,” said AIDS Community Resources’ Prevention Director, Wenona Wake, of Utica. “DIVAS educates girls about the dangers and responsibilities they face in real life relationships. It empowers them take charge of their lives. The Women’s Fund has invested wisely.”
Through DIVAS, participants learn how to solve problems, make healthy decisions, communicate effectively with their partners on all issues including condom negotiation, and condom use skills. They learn how to self-manage their behavior. The intent of the DIVAS intervention is for participants to delay the onset of sexual activities and incorporate safer sex practices for those who are sexually active (includes incorporation of abstinence).
Ms. Wake anticipates that as many as 40 girls will receive DIVAS training through the $3,820 grant from the Women’s Fund of Herkimer and Oneida Counties.