5-Year Prevention Grant to Support Young People in Malden

The Institute for Health and Recovery, in collaboration with Cambridge Health Alliance, has been awarded a five-year prevention grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration-Center for Substance Abuse Prevention.

The goals of the project, named Healthy Malden and Everett, include reducing new HIV and Viral Hepatitis (VH) infections; delaying onset of substance use and abuse; and reducing HIV/VH related disparities and health inequities. The project will use both environmental and direct prevention methods. The Institute for Community Health (ICH) will be serving as project evaluators.

Healthy ME will serve at least 200 young people, ages 13-24, who are at high risk for substance use and HIV and Viral Hepatitis (VH) in Malden and Everett. Given that Massachusetts is facing a current opiate crisis, this project is particularly timely and relevant. The link between opiate use and HIV/VH infections is undeniable, and in that context, Healthy ME has an opportunity to be critically important.

To strengthen existing and develop new community health prevention infrastructure, the project will convene community stakeholders to form a workgroup to develop a needs assessment and strategic prevention plan. This workgroup will aim to promote testing/treatment for HIV/VH and influence community norms related to risk behaviors. It will also blanket the community with relevant information and awareness programs and reach youth via social media campaigns.

Healthy ME’s direct prevention services will involve providing evidence based prevention groups in schools and other community-based settings. We will engage young people and offer rapid testing and case management services to help connect young people to early intervention services, when needed. Ideally, these strategies will decrease the risk of young people developing substance use disorders and HIV/VH and start to address existing health disparities.

The Institute for Health and Recovery (IHR) is a statewide, nonprofit organization incorporated in 1990 to provide services, policy and program development, research and capacity-building activities. IHR provides training, consultation, technical assistance and curriculum development for state, local and national organizations to improve integration of best practices and policies into prevention and treatment programs.

Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) is a community health care system composed of three community hospitals and 12 primary care sites. It is nationally recognized for its commitment to improve population health and address healthcare disparities through innovative clinical and community initiatives designed to meet the needs of its low-income and ethnically diverse patient and community populations.

The Institute for Community Health (ICH) is a nonprofit research and consulting organization that works regionally to help communities develop their capacity to create sustainable solutions to complex public health challenges.