Countering the Epidemic: A Three Legged Stool Approach By Hélène Duquette YES-Mexico October, 2004

«Focusing on information and skills alone without considering the question of economic empowerment has for far too long meant that young people in Africa have been asked to try and balance on a two legged stool. For without adding a third leg-- a solid foundation of economic opportunity and dynamic pathways to sustainable livelihoods-- no amount of information and skills will prevent HIV/AIDS among marginalized young people who must trade sex for income, shelter or schooling, or who turn to sex as the only way to feel important and connected ». Finding Balance in an era of HIV/AIDS

Many groups working with marginalized populations of young people have identified the need for a third layer of interventions -- livelihood support. The premise is that Knowledge -- tells you what health choices are important Skills -- show you how to begin to make different choices Economic Empowerment -- ensures that you have the means and opportunity to make the choices you wish When Knowledge and Skills are Not Enough

What Challenges are our partners facing? With Street Active Youth  Helping them gain access to safe work places  Accompanying them as they channel their street smarts towards entrepreneurial activities  Helping them make more informed decisions on health issues such as drug use and sexual health With Youth Work Practitioners  Helping them gain access to current tools, methodologies and resources that enable them to better accompany Street Active Youth With Organizations  Enabling them to develop strategies that can effectively support and sustain initiatives, learn from their interventions, share lessons learned, and influence policy makers

Connecting –to those individuals and organizations who work with older children Bridging – with innovative livelihood programming Linking –with ladders and bridges to traditional Micro Finance Institutions Our Working Model

Practice Leaders/Capacity Building Partners Organizational Ambassadors/ Lead Partners Government Sector-Based Structures Direct Youth Serving Institutions Street Active Young People Street Kids International Our Boundary Partner Map Our Boundary Partner Map Global/Regional Partners

Achieving Sustained Impact Reach Depth Quality Sustained Impact Number of individuals, institutions and multi--sector actors engaged Level of engagement with partners reached Nature of engagement with partners, from use, to adaptation, to ownership of approach and materials Locally–driven sector–embedded initiatives