Love Heals Inc

Causes: AIDS, Children & Youth, Health, Public Health, Youth Development Programs

Mission: Love heals, the alison gertz foundation for aids education empowers young people in the fight against hiv. Our hiv-positive speakers are putting a face to the epidemic and our youth empowerment programs are training a new generation of community educators and activities.

Programs: Love heals operates the love heals speakers bureau, new york city's longest running hiv/aids speakers bureau, which employs a unique team approach to provide the basic facts on hiv/aids and the personal perspective of someone living with hiv. The diverse roster of trained health educators and people living with hiv conducts presentations and workshops at schools and community groups throughout the metropolitan area, and works in partnership with the department of education to provide lessons towards fulfilling the city's hiv/aids education mandate.

love heals launched the leadership empowerment and awareness program (leap) for girls in 2006 in response to the increasing rates of hiv among young women of color in new york city. Leap for girls focuses on neighborhoods in east harlem, the south bronx and central brooklyn that have felt the greatest impact from the hiv epidemic, providing low-income women of color between the ages of 12 and 18 with the skills and knowledge they need to effect positive change in their own communities.

love heals vehemently defends young people's right to accurate, nonjudgmental and culturally relevant hiv/aids information through its advocacy and communications efforts. By participating in press interviews, panel discussions and community forum-in addition to maintaining an educational website-love heals disseminates a wealth of information for young people and their parents/guardians, educators and community leaders.