Philly FIGHT Opens New HIV Treatment/Prevention Facility
for Local Youth

Philly HIV/AIDS service organization Philadelphia FIGHT‘s Youth Health Empowerment Project (Y-HEP) recently opened a new family care clinic catering to Philly youth. The aim of the new location is to connect to the city’s “hardest-to-reach” young people by offering a safe, judgment-free space where they can receive free treatment and prevention services, participate in peer-led workshops and activities, or come in for food, clothing and mental counseling and support.

The new facility will run under the supervision of nurse practitioner and adolescent healthcare specialist Meghan Bernetich, who says her work will revolve around making patients knowledgeable about their healthcare needs, and empowered to make healthy lifestyle choices.

For prevention, the clinic is currently promoting Y-HEP’s Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) program, a regimen for people who are HIV-negative that involves taking the HIV med Truvada. A press release from FIGHT states that there have been a number of studies showing that, if people take the drug as prescribed, it has proven to be 72 to 94 percent effecting in preventing HIV.

The new facility is located on the third floor of Y-HEP’s treatment facility at 1417 Locust Street. For more information on treatment, workshops and other activities led by Y-HEP, go here.