LEAP for Girls annually recruits 72 young women between the ages of 12–18 from its partner schools and community groups in East Harlem, Central Brooklyn, and the South Bronx. These young women participate in sessions on gender roles and sexuality, healthy relationships, teen pregnancy prevention/contraception, HIV/AIDS, decision-making, and presentation skills among other topics. The young women then design and deliver community action projects to 250 of their peers. Love Heals’ evaluation of LEAP for Girls showed that the curriculum needs to be more youth-friendly and reflective of society’s changing understanding of the topics covered in the sessions. The curriculum also needs to be more interactive and engaging for the participants. Love Heals will interview and hold focus groups of program alumnae, facilitators, and partner sites. They will then hire consultants to help revise the curriculum and the print materials.
Love Heals, which advocates for young people’s right to HIV/AIDS education, wants to improve its Leadership Empowerment and Awareness Program (LEAP) for Girls program.
