PRESS RELEASE

From the Office of the Commissioner of Health, Dr. Gale R. Burstein 

Date: October 2, 2017                       

CONTACT: Daniel Meyer / Daniel.Meyer@erie.gov

Phone: (716)858-8500 / Mobile: (716) 445-0305  

HOPE BUFFALO EXTENDS ITS COMMITMENT TO THE CITY OF BUFFALO 

CDC funds new initiative to address youth sexually transmitted disease rate disparities in Erie County

ERIE COUNTY, NY— In the face of national cuts to adolescent health funding, HOPE Buffalo, one of the Erie County Department of Health’s (ECDOH) and CAI’s teen pregnancy prevention projects, has been successful in securing a federal grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for almost $1 million over three years for the Community Approaches to Reducing STDs (CARS) initiative. This initiative aims to implement evidence-based strategies to reduce disparities in STD rates among African American and LGBTQI adolescents and young adults between the ages of 15 and 24. 

Effective September 30, 2017, the CARS team began working as part of HOPE Buffalo’s Community Action Team (CAT) to engage community-members, stakeholders, and youth.  Adapting HOPE Buffalo’s community mobilization model, community members, youth and stakeholders will work together to identify what is contributing to disparities in rates of STDs as well as take part in developing and implementing solutions. CAI will serve as the backbone organization in partnership with ECDOH to resource and coordinate all initiative activities.  

This effort will include embedding a Social Determinants of Health Fellow within ECDOH to work closely with Health Commissioner, Gale Burstein MD, MPH and her team. 

“This award would not have been possible without the support of the HOPE Buffalo community,” said Stan Martin, Project Director of HOPE Buffalo. “As a result, we are able to address the social determinants of health and reduce health disparities amongst those with some of the greatest needs.” 

HOPE Buffalo’s community partners, among other supportive CAT members to date include:

• ECDSS-Adoption and Family Services
• Buffalo Federation of Neighborhood Centers
• Buffalo Public School District
• Buffalo Police Athletic League, Inc.
• City of Buffalo, Department of Community Services and Recreation
• Evergreen Health
• Greater Buffalo United Ministries
• Kaleida School Based Health Center
• Kaleida Health
• Millennium Collaborative Care
• Neuwater Associates LLC
• Ss Columba-Brigid
• United Way of Buffalo and Erie County 

For more information or if you would like to join the CARS effort, send an e-mail message to smartin@caiglobal.org.  You can also visit the HOPE Buffalo website at www.hopebuffalo.org to take the pledge for healthy teens.