Our Vision

The HASHPPAC will collaborate across diverse sectors of our community to develop a city-wide system that gives our youth hope for the future, and opportunity to reach their goals. The committee will work for providing medically accurate, comprehensive sexual health education to our youth. We will lay the foundation for providing Holyoke’s teens with the capacity for making healthy choices and the opportunity for accessible sexual health services and information. The accountability committee aims for a Holyoke that offers each youth a well rounded education, access to services, and community engagement that contributes to the success of our city and its residents.


Cuidate

Cuidate! is the proposed sex education curriculum to be taught in the Holyoke public schools. To learn more you can visit the Center for Disease Control and Prevention website at http://cdc.gov/hiv/topics/research/prs/resources/factsheets/cuidate.htm#ref1

En Espanol
Esta palabra es el tema de este programa basado en la cultura y diseñado para reducir el riesgo sexual de VIH entre la juventud Latina. Este programa es una adaptión de programa “¡Siéntete Orgulloso! ¡Sé Responsible!” (“Be Proud! Be Responsible!”) Hoy en día, todos los adolescents, incloyendo los latinos enfrentan muchos riesgos de salud relacionados con comportamientos sexuales, tales como embarazo y enfermedades de transmisíon sexual (ETS), incluyendo VIH y SIDA. ¡Cuídate! ayuda a los jóvenes latinos a desarrollar los conocimientos, actitudes y habilidades para reducir su riesgo de contraer es VIH. Este programa enfatiza estrategias de reducción de riesgos tales como la abstinencia y el uso del condón por medio de actividades qu permiten a los jóvenes:
  • Adquirir información correcta y confiable acerca de los riesgos y enfermedades.
  • Desarrollar actitudes qu apoyen la toma de decisions seguridad.
  • Desarrollar habilidades para poder abstenerse del sexo y usar condones.
  • Reforzar su confianza en su capacidad para practicar sexo más seguro.
Al usar el programa ¡Cuídate!, usted podrá ayudar a los adolescents a desarrollar el conocimiento, la voluntad y capacidad de actuar en formas que apoyen la Buena salud y los protégé de riesgos graves relacionados con comportamiento sexual.
¡Cuídate! es único porque se refiere a las creencias culturales relacionados con compaortamientos sexuales arriesgados que son communes entre subgrupos latinos. Específicamente, ¡Cuídate! incluye creencias culturales relacionadas con la abstinencia y el uso del condón. Las actividades del programa presetan estas actitudes y creencias en una forma positiva. Los aspectos de la cultura Latina, tales como familisomo y expectativas de roles de género, incluyendo machismo, también están integradas al programa. Estos valores se usan para mostrar la abstinencia y el uso del condón formas culturalmente aceptables y efectivas para evitar embarazos no planeados o ETS, incluyendo VIH/SIDA.

In English
The word ¡Cuídate! means “take care of yourself,” which is the theme of this culturally-based program designed to reduce HIV sexual risk among Latino youth. This program is an adaptation of the Be Proud! Be Responsible! program. Today all teens, including Latinos, face many health risks related to sexual behavior, such as pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) including HIV and AIDS. ¡Cuídate!, helps Latino youth develop the knowledge, attitudes, and skills to reduce their risk for HIV. The program, recommended for use with grades 8-11, emphasizes risk reduction strategies such as sexual abstinence and condom use through activities that allow youth to:
  • Acquire correct and reliable information about risk and disease.
  • Develop attitudes that support safe decision-making.
  • Build skills to be able to abstain from sex and use condoms.
  • Reinforce confidence in their ability to practice safer sex.
By using the ¡Cuídate! program, you will be able to help teens develop the knowledge, attitudes, and skills to act in ways that will support good health and protect them from serious risks related to sexual behavior.
¡Cuídate! is unique because it addresses cultural beliefs related to sexual risk behaviors that are common among many Latino subgroups. Specifically, ¡Cuídate! includes cultural beliefs related to abstinence and condom use. Program activities show these attitudes and beliefs in a positive way. Aspects of Latino culture, such as familialism and gender-role expectations, including machismo, are also built into the program. These values are used to show abstinence and condom use as culturally acceptable and effective ways to avoid unplanned pregnancy or STDs, including HIV/AIDS.

GOALS OF THE CURRICULUM
The ¡Cuídate! program has three primary goals. They are to:
  1. Influence attitudes, behavioral and normative beliefs, and self-efficacy regarding HIV risk-reduction behaviors, specifically abstinence and condom use, by incorporating the theme of ¡Cuídate!—taking care of oneself, one’s partner, family, and community.
  2. Highlight cultural values that support safer sex, and reframe cultural values that are perceived as barriers to safer sex.
  3. Emphasize how cultural values influence attitudes and beliefs in ways that affect HIV risk-associated sexual behavior.
Scientific studies have proven that, if used correctly, ¡Cuídate! can successfully achieve all of these goals.
The focus of ¡Cuídate! is to increase each participant’s skill level and self-efficacy in communicating and negotiating with sexual partners about abstinence and condom use. The program also helps teens develop the technical skills they need for correct condom use. ¡Cuídate! provides important information about the causes, diagnosis, transmission, and prevention of HIV and STDs, as well as the risk of HIV infection for Latino youth.

TYPES OF ACTIVITES
The ¡Cuídate! program includes learning activities such as small group discussions, videos, games, demonstrations, and role-plays. Activities are designed to help teens get the skills they need to negotiate and practice abstinence and condom use. These activities make teens aware of how choices about their sexual behavior can affect their health. The activities show how safer sexual behavior can help avoid pregnancy and STDs, like HIV and AIDS.

FORMAT & LENGTH
The ¡Cuídate! program is divided into six 1-hour modules. Each module is set up in the same way. You should become familiar with the basic layout of the modules. This will help you get the most out of the information offered to you and help you use it effectively.
Below is an outline of the curriculum modules followed by a brief explanation of the meaning or purpose of each item. This will help you know how to use the curriculum most effectively each time you review it.

MODULE OUTLINE
  • Goals
  • Preview
  • Objectives
  • Strategies/Methods
  • Materials Needed
  • Time Required
  • Rationale for each activity
  • Procedures and detailed Facilitator Notes
  • Small-Group Activities
  • Curriculum Materials