Youth

The CHIP Youth Project (CYP) was established in 1997 and is the only comprehensive health care program in the Rocky Mountain Region focused on serving youth (aged 13 to 24) living with HIV, affected by HIV, or at-risk for HIV. CYP’s comprehensive services include HIV prevention and education, HIV testing, and multidisciplinary care for youth living with HIV. CYP collaborates with community organizations serving youth and provides HIV prevention, testing and counseling services in those agencies.

CYP believes that youth can and will make good decisions about their health when provided accurate information and consistent support. Thus, clients who receive CYP services become empowered consumers better prepared to navigate the health care system. Throughout their time receiving care with CYP, youth are trained in the knowledge and skills needed to manage their HIV care as independent adults.

Well before youth and young adults approach the age of 25, our care team helps prepare them for the transition to an adult care provider. Youth clients can attend a Transition Workshop and/or visit the adult clinic with a social worker to support a smooth transition. Social workers follow patients for one year after transition to support them in engaging with a new provider in an adult care setting.

CHIP has a long history of collaboratively designing, managing and implementing evidence-based HIV prevention and education programs. Recent successes include:

• Oversight of a CHAPP grant since 2007 that is specifically designed to reach vulnerable youth with culturally competent HIV prevention information and includes key youth-serving agencies.
• 933 youth received HIV testing through 15 diverse outreach sites that CHIP manages and supports; and,
• CHIP has been conducting HIV antibody testing since 2002. As an example of CHIP Youth Project’s success in 2009, CHIP targeted testing to LGBTQ youth at Rainbow Alley: 117 youth were tested, two were identified as living with HIV and linked successfully into HIV specialty care. This represents a 1.7% sero-positivity rate which is above the national average.
• The CHIP Youth Project (CYP) collaborates with Hey Denver, Prax(us), Carin’ Clinic, Rainbow Alley, Inside/Out Youth Services, Servicios De La Raza, and Urban Peak to provide HIV rapid testing to youth served there under the age of 25
• Historically, YHAC/CHIP have completed 100-200 HIV tests for youth at Youth Alley during Pride Festival.