Issues: Young people ages 15-24, Black/African-American (B/AA), and LGBTQ+ populations, are at highest risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Buffalo, NY. Community-driven responses are necessary and offer unique insight when addressing complex health disparities.

Description: Funded by the CDC, the Community Approaches to Reducing STIs (CARS) initiative recruited nine Black/African-American straight and queer identifying young adults to serve on a Community Advisory Board (CAB) to develop and implement an innovative STI prevention intervention. The CAB initially conducted a Community Needs Assessment; results led them to identify how a sex-positive event, “Pop N Play,” could effectively address sexual stigma among their peers. To date, the CAB has implemented two out of four scheduled events. Evaluation results show the events were successful in creating a safe and supportive environment to normalize Black sexuality and sexual health, offering access for STI screening, safer sex materials, and information addressing social challenges within the Black/African-American community.

Lessons Learned: Convening a CAB, building their capacity, confidence, knowledge, and skills to plan, direct, and have decision-making power has resulted in strong advocacy for the cause, novel programming, and unique entrepreneurial outcomes.

Recommendations: Engaging a CAB that are active members of their community is essential to reducing disparities. Using creative techniques to collect and process data, and motivating community members by using a social justice framework proved to be strong approaches to reach project goals. Thinking of the most effective strategies to ensure sustainability and continued engagement of the CAB is of utmost priority.