D E A F Selected to Present at CDC Conference

St. Paul, Minnesota, — D E A F has been selected to present a concurrent session entitled “Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth HIV/STD Risk Behaviors” at the National Leadership Conference to Strengthen HIV/AIDS Education and Coordinated School Health Programs which is being held in Atlanta, Georgia, August 9-14, 1998.

This conference is sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, and the Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH).

One of the main objectives of the Conference is to enable the nation’s leaders to meet and explore collaborative efforts to assure the health and educational success of all young people, including postsecondary students, with special emphasis on youth in high risk situations.

Program participants can gain technical assistance and training about the skills that health, education, social service, and other professionals need in order to help young people outside of school avoid HIV infection and other serious health problems.

“We are thrilled to have this opportunity to present at a national CDC and DASH sponsored conference,” says Nancy Emery, D E A F’s HIV/AIDS + STD Prevention Education Program Manager. “It is critical for education professionals to understand the significant HIV/STD infection risk for Deaf and Hard of Hearing youth. Deaf and Hard of Hearing people represent an undocumented cultural minority in terms of HIV/STD infection.”

D E A F will present the topic “Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth HIV/STD Risk Behaviors,” which will focus on the importance of using graphics and other culturally and linguistically appropriate materials.

Today D E A F serves a broad constituency, including people who are born Deaf, those deafened later in life, Hard of Hearing people, and a variety of professionals and lay persons interested in improving the quality of life for all members of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities. D E A F is committed to empowering Deaf and Hard of Hearing people by increasing access to information. D E A F provides direct services to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities including: adult education, tutoring, Deaf community networking, HIV/AIDS Prevention Education, deaf recreation, and information/referral.

For more information about D E A F’s Deaf community HIV/AIDS + STD Prevention Education Program, contact Nancy Emery at 651.297.6707 TTY/Voice, by fax at 651.297.6766 or via e-mail at [email protected]