A Letter From Our Executive Director for National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness are at tremendous risk for HIV, and young people who are unstably housed are significantly more likely to lack access to HIV care.  

On this National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, we can ask a profound and actionable question.  What are we going to do about it?

The answer is also both actionable and profound.  We are going to work together to get billions of dollars directly into the hands of queer, trans, and BIPOC young people who are at risk of homelessness or who are unstably housed.

We’ve all said that….

Young people are experts in their own lives.  

“Nothing About Us, Without Us.”

We have been saying it for decades. Now it’s time to walk the walk, rise up, collaborate, and co-conspire to act—to do different and do better.  

We need to support Direct Cash Transfers for a Housing Outcome and Direct Cash Transfers as Prevention, with youth-determined support, led by other young people with lived experience, to provide access to care, including access to effective HIV prevention, including PreP and HIV treatment.

Ask yourself what it would look like if an unstably housed young person had access to the cash for housing they needed for two years, around $30,000 in unrestricted monthly payments.  

And what if they had access to a well-supported, well-resourced young person who was also their peer navigator, mentor, and coach for two years?   

Would they be stably housed?  Would they have access to PreP or the HIV treatment they needed?

We have seen in all of the communities where we are working that the answer is YES! 

It’s time to do better. It’s time to trust young people.  It’s time to end the HIV/AIDS crisis.

—Larry

Larry Cohen
Executive Director and Co-founder
Point Source Youth