The Mpowerment Project is a model community building and HIV prevention program that has been designed specifically to address the needs of young adult gay/bisexual men ages 18 – 29. It is the first documented HIV prevention intervention for young gay/bisexual men to succeed in reducing sexual risk behavior. The program has been developed, evaluated and continually refined by prominent behavioral scientists from the

University of California, San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It cond ...

's Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, the largest research center in the world dedicated to social, behavioral and policy science approaches to HIV. In 1999, it was one of the first programs to be included in the

Center for Disease Control The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...

and Prevention's ''Compendium of HIV Prevention Interventions with Evidence of Effectiveness.'' It is the only program included that is designed specifically to address the HIV Prevention needs of young gay/bisexual men and other young men who have sex with men (MSM). The Mpowerment Project uses outreach, a drop-in center and community-building efforts to strengthen young gay men's self-esteem, positive relationships, and social support. The project addresses HIV testing, PrEP, condoms use and staying on one's medications if one is living with HIV. Additionally, the project addresses interpersonal and social factors that affect the lives of young gay/bisexual men.

History

Recognizing the critical need for HIV prevention programs for young gay/bisexual men, Dr. Susan Kegeles and Dr. Robert Hays (1955-2001), research psychologists at the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS) at the University of California, San Francisco, applied for funding to the

National Institute of Mental Health The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH, in turn, is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the prima ...

(NIMH) to design, implement, and evaluate a community-level HIV prevention program for young gay/bisexual men. Their five-year grant was awarded in 1990. They pilot tested the program in Santa Cruz, CA. Based on encouraging results there, they refined the program and implemented it in a second community (Eugene, OR), where it was named the Mpowerment Project. Following the program's success in Eugene, it was replicated in Santa Barbara, CA. In 1995 Drs. Kegeles and Hays received a second five-year grant form the NIMH to further develop the program for use in major metropolitan areas across the U.S. Dr. Greg Rebchook, a research psychologist who had worked at a department of public health and at a community-based organization, joined the team in 1996. This new grant enabled them to implement the Mpowerment Project in Albuquerque, NM – where the project was called MPower (1997–1998); and in Austin, TX – where the project was called Austin Men's Project / AMP (1999–2000). Since 2002, numerous organizations have implemented the program with varying success. The Mpowerment Project is cost-effective compared with many other HIV prevention strategies. The cost per HIV infection prevented is far less than the lifetime medical costs of HIV disease. In 2005 the

RAND Corporation The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...

developed a mathematical model of the cost of a wide variety of HIV prevention interventions. The Mpowerment Project is listed as the most cost-effective intervention.

Project Structure

The project is made of the Core Group, volunteers, and the Community Advisory Board (CAB). The Core Group consists of 10-15 members who represent the demographics of that particular project's local gay and bisexual men's community. Volunteers are those who cannot devote as much time to the Core Group, but would still like to contribute. Volunteers are what help the program be as cost effective as it is. The Community Advisory Board (CAB) is available for the Core Group and volunteers. Consisting of members of the LGBT community, the CAB provide relevant advice for the Core Group and volunteers of GBT young adults.

The Mpowerment Project Manual

The Mpowerment Project manual was released in 2002 and updated in 2010. The project manual is a free download on the Mpowerment Project website. The individually bound modules cover the following program components: * Module 1: Overview * Module 2: Community Assessment – Knowing your community * Module 3: Implementing Agency * Module 4: Coordinators * Module 5: Core Group & Volunteers * Module 6: Project Space * Module 7: Formal Outreach – Social outreach events and outreach team * Module 8: Informal Outreach * Module 9: M-Groups * Module 10: Publicizing the Mpowerment Project * Module 11: The Community Advisory Board * Module 12: Monitoring and Evaluation * Module 13: M-Group Facilitator’s Guide * Module 14: M-Group Meeting Guide * Adaptation of the Mpowerment Project to African American / Black gay and bisexual men/MSM * Adaptation of the Mpowerment Project to Latino gay and bisexual men/MSM * Spanish translation of the Mpowerment manual

Mpowerment Projects in the United States

Alabama

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

- MPowerment

Alaska

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

– AMP Anchorage Men's Project

California

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

- Somos OC *

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

– MPowerSD *

– In The Mix *

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

BRIDGEMEN

Florida

* Ft. Lauderdale �
M Project
*

Wilton Manors Wilton Manors is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 11,426. Wilton Manors is part of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to 6,166,488 people at the 2020 census. Histor ...

SOMOS - Latinos Salud
*

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

- The Gathering Center

Georgia

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

�
Evolution Project

Idaho

Pocatello Pocatello () is the county seat of and largest city in Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the ...

�
Genesis Project
*

Boise Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area's ...

mpowermentBOI hosted by Allies Linked for the Prevention of HIV and AIDS

Illinois

* Champaign-Urbana – Mpowerment CU * Charleston-Mattoon - Mpowerment Charleston-Mattoon

Indiana

* Bloomington – IlluMENate

Iowa

Iowa City Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

– Mpowerment Iowa City

Louisiana

Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

– FM Project *

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

– reVision, ME + U

Michigan

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

– MPowerment Detroit *

- R.E.C. Boyz

Minnesota

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

�
PrideAlive

Missouri

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Mpower STL
*

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

Haven MPowerment

New Jersey

Asbury Park Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 15,188

Project R.E.A.L
* Trenton – E=MC2: Empowering Men 2 Create Change * Camden - Project K.I.S. Keeping It Safe

New Mexico

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

– MPower *

MPower New Mexico Alumni

New York

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

MPowerment LI
*

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

MPO
*

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

Holatinos
*

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

br>BxMpowerment

North Carolina

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

�
M Club

Ohio

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

- Beyond Identities Community Center *

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

- Greater Columbus Mpowerment Center

*

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

�
Mu Crew
* Toledo - Toledo Mpowerment The Mu Crew Logo.jpg, The Mu Crew

Oregon

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Pivot

Pennsylvania

* Harrisburg/Lancaster, Pa
Mpower Pa

South Carolina

* Charleston - CHAMP CHarleston Area Mpowerment Project

Texas

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

�
The M Factor
ref> *

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

�
The Q Austin
*

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

United Black Ellument
*

Fuse
File:M_Factor_logo_16.jpg, The M Factor

Utah

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

– The Village

Vermont

Brattleboro Brattleboro (), originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The most populous municipality abutting Vermont's eastern border with New Hampshire, which is the Connecticut River, Brattleboro is located about nor ...

– The Men's Program *

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

– GLAM www.GLAMvt.org

Washington

Olympia The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...

Mpowerment Olympia
*

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

– The MPowerment Project *

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...

Inland Northwest Men's Experience (INMx)

West Virginia

* Morgantown �
Morgantown Mpowerment Project

References

External links

Official The Mpowerment Project website

The Center for AIDS Prevention Studies
at the University of California San Francisco
Effective Interventions.org: Centers for Disease Control Effective Interventions Site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mpowerment HIV/AIDS organizations in the United States LGBT health organizations in the United States *M Medical and health organizations based in California