Project Achievements: Larkin Street Youth Center

HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau's Special Projects of National Significance [1994 - 1999]:

Larkin Street Youth Center

Completed by: Michael Kennedy, M.F.C.C.; Anne Stanton, M.S.W., C.S.W
Last Updated: July 1999

Achievement 1: Established a licensed twelve unit assisted living and long term care facility for homeless youth, ages 16-24, living with AIDS. Acquisition and capital development of a $2.1 million facility.

Key Elements for
Success:

Community support, Executive and Board leadership. Financial support of private and individual foundations. Ability to leverage SPNS funding to acquire capital commitment.

Factors that Limited
Success:

Capital construction timeline.

Factors that Ensured
Success:

Perseverance, ability to continue to provide services for youth awaiting the completion of the facility's construction.

Achievement 2: Expanded existing HIV support services (emergency housing, comprehensive medical care and psychosocial support services) and relocated services to the new permanent housing site which now serves as the focal point for providing a coordinated and fully integrated service delivery model of HIV care for youth.
Key Elements for Success: Track record and history of providing and designing HIV services for youth beginning in 1989.	Factors that Limited Success: None listed.	Factors that Ensured Success: Flexibility of service delivery to adjust to changing times and medical needs.

*Achievement 3:* Produced four papers which are currently being submitted for publication: (1) A Continuum of Care Model for Adolescents Living with HIV: Larkin Street Youth Center, (2) Comprehensive Care for Disabled Sero-Positive Youth, (3) Developing a Community-Based Residential Care Facility for Adolescents Living with HIV, and (4) Stages of Adaptation for Adolescents Living with HIV.
Key Elements for Success: Support of local evaluator, expertise of local evaluator in working with service providers in a collaborative, respectful manner.	Factors that Limited Success: None listed.	Factors that Ensured Success: Program expertise in conjunction with local evaluators research expertise.

*Achievement 4:* This year, LSYC was awarded a grant from the Title IV Adolescent Initiative to expand and provide an HIV Adolescent Care Specialty Medical Clinic at the new facility.
Key Elements for Success: Program Service Model, experience as SPNS grantee to create model of care that is the first in the nation. This helped to attract interest of medical partners.	Factors that Limited Success: None listed.	Factors that Ensured Success: Leverage provided by SPNS grant, a model project with significant accomplishments.

*Achievement 5:* Youth who have been living at the new Assisted Care Facility have shown drastic improvements in their health and quality of life.
Key Elements for Success: Youth trust in program, access to highly skilled clinicians. Adolescent centered approach. Access to drug combinations and ability to help youth manage their medications, improved nutrition, and life style.	Factors that Limited Success: None listed.	Factors that Ensured Success: Commitment of staff and agency to provide highest level of services for HIV-positive youth.

Lessons Learned from this Project

Project Index for Achievements and Lessons Learned

Larkin Street Youth Center