Henry Street’s Project PROTECT had a Ball Promoting Safe Sex
By Kasia Gladki
Henry Street’s Project PROTECT program — a peer-led HIV prevention program that connects young gay men of color to critical services to help them gain stability and financial independence and make better relationship decisions — hosted its first “I Know My Status” Kiki Ball. Nearly 100 people attended the event which was held on February 20 at the Abrons Arts Center.
A Kiki Ball is a youth-led, pro-social event where different organizations, called houses, creatively battle it out in categories like face, runway, vogue, fashion and more. The competitors highlight self-motivation and well-informed plans and decisions around health, personal and professional development , and community leadership.
Project PROTECT’s Kiki Ball was a fun and engaging way to promote HIV awareness and safety. It included a Kiki runway where each person who walked was their own “safer sex prevention super hero,” a contest to create an ad campaign to promote the program, a special opportunity to become “The Face” of Project Protect, honest discussions about sex education and condom use, free HIV testing and much more. All of the categories were safer-sex themed, and all outfits and props dealt with the issues in incredibly creative ways. The grand prize was awarded to the individual who came up with the most inventive way of identifying an STI and its accompanying treatment.
“It was a fantastic opportunity to send a message about the importance of getting tested regularly and knowing your status, and to provide young people with safer sex materials,” said Cody Lallier, Project PROTECT program coordinator. “We hope that events like this will introduce new people to the support and services we offer at Henry Street.”
Project PROTECT is made possible by generous funding from the Elton John AIDS Foundation and M·A·C AIDS Fund
