Legislation and Governance

Positions of DC Council At-Large Candidates on Abstinence Education, Same Sex Marriage, HIV prevention and other issues

Video Statement by Tom Brown, Alan Page and Bryan Weaver on how they will address HIV/AIDS, Teen Pregnancy, and family breakdown in DC: Click Here

Issue 1: Abstinence Education: Tom Brown, Alan Page & Bryan Weaver video: Click Here
Most other candidates: GLAA Survey Answers: Click Here. Tom Brown & Alan page: ULTRA Teen Choice Survey : Click Here

Issue 2: Definition of Marriage: Tom Brown & Alan Page: ULTRA Teen Choice Survey: Click Here

Joshua Lopez, Patrick Mara, Vincent Orange: Video: Click Here

Most other candidates: Click Here

Issue 3: The District's HIV prevention situation: Tom Brown, Alan Page, & Bryan Weaver video: Click Here

Other Issues: Tom Brown, Alan Page, and Bryan Waver on the DC budget crisis, school truancy, why more youth are abstaining in DC and nationwide, school vouchers, what the DC Council can do to spread HIV awareness, and opening and closing statements: Click Here (Scroll down).

A special election for the DC Council At-Large seat vacated by Council Chair Kwame Brown, will be held on Tuesday, April 26th. Be sure to vote for the candidate of your choice! Turnout is traditionally low in special elections in DC, and every vote will count. If you are not registered to vote, and you are a US citizen and a DC resident, you can now register to vote at your polling place on election day. Click here to view the election guide and to find your polling place. Ward 4 and Ward 8 will also elect members to the State Board of Education.

Your Tax Dollars at Work

The Rubber Revolution?

Last November, the DC Department of Health (DOH) launched the Rubber Revolution website. According to the site:

We want condoms in the hands of the men and women of DC to use for responsible and good sex.

Really? If condom distribution is working so well in DC, why have rates of HIV infection and sexually transmitted disease infection been increasing? Certainly not because there have not been enough condoms distributed.

Condom distribution in the District increased from 600,0000 in 2007 to 3.2 million in 2009. Yet at the same time, the rate of HIV infection increased by 9.2 per cent. So it appears that there is a correlation between more condoms being distributed and higher HIV infection rates. Ed Green found the same effect in his research in Africa; using condoms seems to give a false sense of security. Countries with the highest rate of condom use also have the highest rates of HIV infection. Botswana, Zimbabwe, and South Africa have the highest rate of condom distribution, and also the highest rate of HIV infection (20 percent to 35 percent among males ages 15 to 49)

Although 42 percent of DC high school students report never having had sex, and 69 percent have not had sex within the previous three months, the District does not spend any money to increase the number of youth who are abstaining from sex.

The vision of ULTRA Teen Choice is that

Every DC youth from upper elementary through high school will receive education about the benefits of abstinence, and will have the opportunity to hear from peers who believe in abstinence.
Accountability relationships, in person or through others means, will be set up between older youth or adults of the same sex who believe in abstinence:
Middle school youth will be STAR (Students Teaching Abstinence & Responsibility) Guides for upper elementary.
High school youth will be STAR Guides for Middle School.
College Youth will be STAR Guides for High School.
This will greatly reduce the rate of HIV, STDs, out of wedlock births, and heartbreak.

A condom-centric approach to stopping HIV and STD infection in DC has been a dismal failure. It is time to form a youth HIV Prevention Corps that leverages the immense resource of youth who are abstinent or who have returned to abstinence. Why are we wasting more of taxpayers hard earned money funding programs that continue to promote the same old failed methods?

Legislation and Governance

Update on Legislation to allow Notaries to perform marriages in DC

Councilmember Phil Mendelson reports that "A hearing was held on this legislation last year. I did not move it. At this time, no action has been scheduled on the reintroduced bill." However, Councilmembers David Catania, Mary Cheh, and Jack Evans, with co-sponsors Interim Councilmember Sekou Biddle (who is running for the permanent Council At-Large Seat, and Marion Barry. Use the link below to compose and send your own email to all DC Councilmembers and key staff members:

Read the Washington Times article: Click here

Read the bill: Click here

Here is a commentary I wrote about the bill: Click Here

Use the ULTRA Teen Choice email tool to email all councilmembers and key staff: Click here to go to the email tool:

and call your concilmember and tell them that you do not want marriages to be performed by notaries:

Click here for the names and phone numbers of all councilmembers:

Programs and Events

HIV/AIDS, pregnancy prevention, and relationship education Presentation
are available for you school or organization.

Form left, Alexis, Daryn, and Brieanna during peer counselor training. View more pictures on Flickr

ULTRA Teen Choice is a premier provider of HIV/AIDS prevention services and peer counselor training that is abstinence centered and evidence based. Call Richard at 202-544-5081 to schedule sessions for your school, church or organization. Click Here for more information.

STAR (Students Teaching Abstinence & Responsibility) Guides are young adults who practice sexual abstience. STAR Guides teach other youth about the benefits of abstinence, and serve as positive role models. To apply to be a STAR Guide, visit our website and fill out a volunteer application: Click Here.

Urban Grocery Launches Affiliate Program that includes support for ULTRA Teen Choice

News, Commentary & Media ULTRA Teen Choice started as a community outreach project of Urban Grocery, a delivery service founded by Richard & Stacey Urban. Richard & Stacey believe in a model of community service that is holistic, where business and community service go hand in hand to benefit the community. Urban Grocery is proud to launch a new Affiliate Program for individuals, schools, churches, and organizations. Affiliates can earn $10 of free groceries for each person referred to Urban Grocery, or earn a $10 credit toward ULTRA Education programs, or $5 cash. Please visit www.urbangrocery.net to find out more and to sign up as an individual affiliate, or http://www.urbangrocery.com/ to sign up as an organization. Thank you for your support, and enjoy the free groceries!

Watato from the Nile: 9 year old girls' video about Lil' Wayne

Opportunities

Free IT Training for 18-24 year olds who live in the San Francisco Bay Area, DC, MD, or VA, Providence, Boston, Chicago, Rhode Island, New York City, Atlanta.
If you know anyone with a high school diploma or a GED who are between the ages of 18-24 yrs old and have an interest in IT Refer them to this site http://www.yearup.org/ to learn more about this free program.
This program asks for a 1 year commitment between the hours of 8:30 am and 5:00 pm.
They provide the student with a stipend and after six months, internships at companies such as Freddie Mac and AOL to name a few. Â Check out the website. http://www.yearup.org/ About Year Up
Year Up is a one-year, intensive training program that provides urban young adults 18-24, with a unique combination of technical and professional skills, college credits, an educational stipend and corporate apprenticeship.
Success of their graduates -- enabling them to move on to full-time employment and higher education
Year Up is about providing opportunities for urban young adults to demonstrate their true potential.
We have achieved excellent results to date:
• 100% placement of qualified students into apprenticeships
• 83% student retention
• 90% of apprentices meet or exceed apprenticeship partner expectations
• 87% of graduates placed in full or part-time positions within 4 months of graduation
• $15/hr average wage at placement