Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE) - Youth Health Advocates Initiative

For 30 year, HOPE has focused on building the leadership capacity of Latinas in California.

HOPE's key programming includes:

HOPE Leadership Institute (HLI) - trains Latinas in vital advocacy skills to enable them to create fundamental change within their communities. To date, the program has graduated 523 Latinas.

HOPE College Leadership Program (HCLP)- focuses on enhancing the professional and personal development of college Latinas to ensuring successful degree attainment and workforce integration.

HOPE Youth Leadership Program (HCLP) - trains high school Latinas in critical skills to ensure self-sufficient futures. These trainings include STEM exposure, financial literacy, career exposure, health advocacy, college readiness, and personal life skills. HYLP has serviced over 4,000 Latina students, of which 460 have graduated from the intensive six-month leadership program.

HOPE Binational Fellowship - The HOPE Fellowship is an executive leadership program for outstanding Latina professionals who, through increased competence in national and global economic and security issues, can make urgent and long-lasting improvements in the lives of Latinas in the United States and all communities.

HOPE has also worked tirelessly to advocate on behalf of policy that improves our communities and guarantees access to and the affordability of health care and other key policy issues.

For over 30 years, HOPE has empowered over 50,000 Latinas across California to be advocates for themselves and their families. Sixteen years ago, we launched a program that would equip Latina adolescents with the tools and experience to become community leaders, health advocates and pursue higher education.

The Voices of Health grant will help support the Youth Health Advocates Initiative, a project of the HOPE Youth Leadership Program (HYLP). The Youth Health Advocates Initiative trains and empowers young women across California to explore health disparities among Latina adolescents in their communities. The project entails disseminating an intensive survey, analyzing pertinent data, identifying an issue area, acquiring community input, developing and proposing policy solutions, and meeting with state legislators and local decisions makers to advocate for their solutions. The Youth Health Advocates look at issues such as teen pregnancy, health care access, healthy food access, and mental health in addition to other public health issues.

To date, HOPE has trained over 460 youth health advocates. Some past successes include, the creation of health clubs on high school campuses, school-wide initiatives to address food insecurity in Bakersfield, CA and city-wide campaigns to address substance abuse and food desserts in Fresno, CA.