Winter 2022

Ybor Youth Clinic Winter 2022

Improving youth access to health services and community resources.

Welcome to the Winter 2022 edition of the YYC Newsletter! This quarter, we are looking back at some of our accomplishments in 2021 and looking forward to some new things we will be tackling in 2022.

As it did for many of you, COVID-19 brought challenges to the clinic but overcoming those challenges allowed us to think creatively and develop new programming and ways to reach our audience that will strengthen the YYC going forward. This newsletter is one thing we have developed to keep our community informed of YYC activities.

We have also updated our website and expanded our social media presence to offset some of the in-person interactions we lost because of the pandemic, so remember to check those out for more clinic information. Now that the latest pandemic wave is subsiding, we are very excited to be able to get out in the community again.

Keep reading for information on several of our recent outreach events and come see us at our YYC table at the Tampa PRIDE 2022 Street Festival prior to the big parade on March 26^th from 11am to 4pm on 9^th Avenue in Ybor City!

What's New With PrEP at the YYC

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a very effective way for people to protect themselves from getting HIV if they are exposed to the virus. Taking PrEP may be a good idea for you if you don’t always use condoms, have or have had an STI, or don’t know the HIV status of your sexual partners. At the YYC, we offer PrEP to patients who are HIV negative and are willing to take one pill every day for prevention. The two pills available are Truvada and Descovy, both of which work well and are usually well tolerated. If you think PrEP might be right for you, you can talk to us about it when you come in for HIV/STI testing or when you see a provider for an appointment.

Even if you are familiar with PrEP, there are some new things about it that you may not know: 

• Because PrEP is such an effective way to keep people from getting HIV, insurance companies are now required to provide full coverage for all the costs associated with taking PrEP. That means that your medicine, appointment, and necessary labs are all covered by insurance and your PrEP will be free of charge. Even if you don’t have insurance, the companies that make PrEP medicines have patient assistance programs that can help with the costs. 
• For people that find it hard to remember to take a pill every day, there is now a new PrEP injection that you can take once every two months instead of taking a pill. This is not available at the YYC yet, but we are working to bring that option to the clinic soon! 
• Stay tuned for an announcement about a new research study we will be launching at the YYC for people just starting to take PrEP or having trouble remembering to take their pill that will involve using an app that can help you remember your medications. 
• For information about a previous PrEP study, P3, done at the clinic, see below.

P3 Research Study Update

Did you participate in the P3 study? We have some of the first results from the study! P3 is a nation-wide study with the goal of helping young people who are taking PrEP remember their medication every day and stay in care.

Here are some takeaways from the 246 participants:

• The majority of P3 patients were from the South (53%), already taking PrEP when they started the study (91%), and were not in a relationship (80%).
• Participants were largely cisgender gay men.
• Only 1 in 4 participants used mobile-apps to track health information at their first visit, and 1 in 10 used apps to get information on HIV/STIs before the study.

If you participated in another study or are interested in the results of our other studies, stay tuned for upcoming information!

Novavax COVID-19 Trial Update

This past year, the YYC was very excited to be one of the trial sites for a new COVID-19 vaccine. The Novavax vaccine is already approved in Europe and the company has recently applied for FDA approval in this country based on the information from the study that USF and the YYC participated in.

The study at USF enrolled over 300 patients with almost 80 being seen at the YYC. This vaccine is different than the currently available vaccines in this country in that it uses a protein that looks like the virus’ spike protein to stimulate peoples’ immune systems to make antibodies to protect them from getting seriously ill with COVID-19. We are in the process of giving study participants booster doses to ensure their vaccine protection continues.

We are happy that we could participate in this important trial that will lead to another effective tool against COVID-19. Need more information on staying safe from COVID-19? Check out USF Health COVID-19 Patient Resources.

Why is it Important for Youth to Participate in Research?

Youth participation in research is crucial for researchers to better understand and ultimately treat, manage, and cure health conditions that young people experience. Youth research participants are a voice for other youth at that age who encounter similar circumstances. A large amount of research is done on adults, however, youth research has great value to offer as well. Youth experience and knowledge are indispensable!  

YYC Team Members at USF Health Research Day

Congratulations to all our presenters on their excellent work!

Youth Count Event

YYC and Teen Connect Tampa Bay shared resources with unaccompanied youth at the Tampa Hillsborough Homeless Initiative’s 2022 Youth Count Event on Thursday, Feb. 24^th at Perry Harvey Sr. Park. The Youth Count Event is part of the community wide effort to count and identify the needs of unaccompanied youth between 16 and 24, who are not residing with a parent or legal guardian, that are experiencing homelessness or housing instability to inform ongoing efforts to increase resources for needed services and housing assistance.

If you missed the event and would like to get involved to share your voice and help advocate for youth resources, we invite you to complete this short survey. For housing assistance resources available to teens and young adults in Hillsborough County, visit: www.teenconnecttampabay.org/housing-homeless-youth

Project Condom: Promoting Safer Sex

The Teen Connect Youth Advisory Board teamed up with YYC’s Youth Community Advisory Board to participate in the first Project Condom competition in Tampa Bay, hosted by Metro Inclusive Health.

Project Condom is sponsored by ONE Condoms, with the goal of encouraging communities to start conversations about safer sex, break barriers, and de-stigmatize discussions about sexual health. Team, “Connect to Protect”, debuted their condom outfit modeled after Zendaya’s 2018 Met Gala dress, and inspired by Joan of Arc, at the Project Condom Runway Show on Saturday, Feb. 19 at inclusivitea in St. Pete. Through creating an armor of condoms, the design aimed to highlight the importance of protection against STIs and unplanned pregnancy, and the boldness of taking control of your sexual health and identity.

Follow @teenconnecttampa & @ycab_tampa for an inside look at Project Condom and our safer sex campaign!

The Wellness Wall at the YYC

Our Wellness Wall continues to be a great way to engage youth as soon as they walk through our door. In February, we celebrated Black History Month and had a corner of our wall featuring Black history facts.

Additionally, we highlighted events that we participated in with our partners including Project Condom: Runway, hosted by Metro Inclusive Health, to promote healthy sexual behaviors.

We look forward to next month’s theme of Women’s Health and Adolescent Health. Check out our latest Wellness Wall content next time you are at Ybor Youth Clinic!

The YYC Received Silver Certification for Providing Adolescent-Centered Care

We are proud to announce that the YYC completed the Adolescent-Centered Environment Assessment Process (ACE-AP) and became the first clinic in Florida to receive a silver certification for our efforts in providing a safe, welcoming environment for youth to receive sexual health services.

Funding for participation in this certification process was provided by the Healthy Start Coalition of Hillsborough County’s Adolescent & Teen Health Program.



The ACE-AP, developed and facilitated by the Adolescent Health Initiative out of the University of Michigan Medicine program, is a comprehensive self-assessment and guided improvement process designed to minimize barriers and improve the delivery of care to adolescents. The ACE-AP spans 12 key areas of adolescent-centered care, including adolescent best practices and standards of care, confidentiality, behavioral health practices, adolescent involvement and empowerment, and cultural responsiveness.

Check out the great coverage the clinic received on Bay News 9 when the award was announced by visiting their website here.

Follow us @YborYouthClinic