HOPE Buffalo hosts press conference

Federal Funding Cuts To Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program Hits Home

Erie County, NY – On August 17, 2017, HOPE Buffalo hosted a press conference to discuss the current administration’s decision to cut funding to the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPPP) by two years.
HOPE Buffalo, a project of CAI, in partnership with the Erie County Department of Health (ECDOH), was initially awarded a $10 million grant over five years (2015-2020), but is now only guaranteed funding until June of 2018. Both HOPE Buffalo and the ECDOH are committed to raising healthy children and sustaining the youth and community led collaboration beyond the 2018 date.
The strategies they seek to implement are replicating the Evidence Based Interventions (EBIs)—proven to reduce teen pregnancy—and continue utilizing science and data to reach well-informed decisions about comprehensive adolescent health and wellness. The goal remains to reduce teen pregnancy by 30% by 2020 in nine selected Buffalo City zip codes with the highest teen pregnancy rates and will require more support from the community, including the public and private sector.
Key topics that were addressed included:

• What is HOPE Buffalo?
• What is the Plan?
• The Youth Voice
• Next Steps to Move Forward

“The driving force behind our work is the data,” said HOPE Buffalo’s Project Director, Stan Martin in the last Community Action Team (CAT) meeting.
“We have talked about sustainability since day one,” he said. “We put action behind our words where schools, communities and healthcare providers are all involved. We want to prepare ourselves for beyond 2018 and 2020.”