Project Silk offers a safe space for young LGBTQ+ people of color

For a young LGBTQ+ person of color, life can be difficult to navigate. Often, it's hard to find a place where they feel safe, both emotionally and physically. That's where Project Silk in downtown Pittsburgh comes in.Project Silk started in 2012 as a focus group by the University of Pittsburgh's School for Public Health as a way for the community to talk about HIV, particularly in young, queer people of color. One of the purposes was to make sure people were getting tested and figuring out how to educate the community about prevention.In 2015, Community Human Services took over operations."From there, it morphed into a program and a space like you see here where we are offering drop-in center services where young people can come and express themselves," said Alicia Romano, CEO of Community Human Services.According to Romano, young LGBTQ+ people of color are at the highest risk for HIV and are also the group that is less likely to get tested. "So, it's important for programs like Project Silk to get out in the community, to connect with these individuals in order to educate them on the risks of HIV in order to bring them into spaces like these to get them tested so that they know their status," Romano said. "And Project Silk aims to connect individuals to the medical services that they need."Project Silk's services go beyond HIV testing and education. It also offers life-skills training. Those include proper hygiene, plus how to write a resume and how to prepare for job interviews."We're trying to teach them the skills that they need so they can go out in the community and be functioning adults who are not just living but thriving," Romano said. "We work with Pittsburgh Public Schools and a number of charter schools in the area that we're able to connect with in order to draw folks in. To let young queer people of color know that there is a safe space for them to land where they can get the things that they need. Whether that's food, whether that's clothing, whether that's some type of education or life skills training. That there is space like that that does exist."Click here to learn more about Project Silk.