Grant to Fund Sexual Risk Avoidance Education Program

The Westchester County Youth Bureau received $260,000 to implement its Sexual Risk Avoidance Education Program (SRAEP), focusing on teen pregnancy prevention and work readiness skills to reduce risky behaviors among youth. The program was established in 2019 and has been funded annually by the New York State legislature.

SRAEP serves youth from 11 to 18 years of age in the highest-need municipalities in Westchester County through a partnership between the County Youth Bureau and the network of local youth bureaus in Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Ossining, Peekskill, Port Chester, White Plains and Yonkers.

SRAEP utilizes a Positive Youth Development (PYD) framework to provide tools and resources to build healthy relationships and raise awareness about risky behaviors and STI/STD prevention. The program encourages youth engagement through career development and work readiness supports, leadership skill development and employment opportunities.

It also offers workshops conducted by Teens Under Construction (TUC), Inc. to educate youth on good decision making as it relates to their physical, emotional and social health. Using the READi curriculum, along with providing supports for skills necessary to compete in the labor market such as resume writing, job seeking/interviewing techniques, understanding employer and workplace expectations, developing positive work habits and job shadowing/unpaid internship opportunities, SRAEP strives to develop youth capacity to move toward employment.

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins said, “Westchester is fortunate to have strong allies at the state level who understand the wide range of needs we have as a very diverse County, and who support those needs financially. The $260,000 will go a long way towards steering at-risk youth away from potentially destructive situations towards healthier choices in the communities where this is most prevalent.”

Westchester County Youth Bureau Executive Director Ernest McFadden said, “We express our gratitude to Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and her colleagues in New York State government for the recognition of this initiative, aimed at decreasing health risk behaviors among youth through allocating financial support to some of Westchester County’s most underserved communities. Focusing on Mt. Vernon, New Rochelle, Ossining, Peekskill, Port Chester, White Plains, and Yonkers, each Youth Bureau will play a vital role in fostering health equity for vulnerable populations and provide counseling and referral services to support youth well-being.”