INNOVATIONS

CRUSH (Connecting Resources for Urban Sexual Health) is a sexual-health project resulting from a collaborative research study that leverages existing public health partnerships with the goal of expanding sexual-health services for youth in Alameda County, California. The primary aims of the CRUSH Project are to test and link young MSM of color to sexual health services; enhance and evaluate engagement and retention strategies for HIV-positive young gay/bisexual men of color; and engage and retain their HIV-negative counterparts in sexual health services, including PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) and PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis). 

The CRUSH Project’s success lies within its Community Advisory Board (CAB), a group of engaged clients and community partners that advise the design and direction of CRUSH Project programming. CAB members serve as leaders in program education, outreach and research. They are the voices and faces that engage the community and guide project initiatives.   

SERVICES

The CRUSH program is administered within a larger hospital system, Sutter Health Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, which allows for access and seamless referral to primary care and specialty services.

Free and confidential HIV/STI counseling and testing services are available daily on site. Participants receive ongoing risk-reduction counseling, referrals for personal development programs, and PrEP or PEP, as needed. Partnerships with community-based organizations and ASOs link clients to resources for the following services:

• Care coordination
• Domestic violence prevention
• Family counseling
• Support for antiretrovial therapy
• Housing
• Social services
• Medicaid enrollment
• Transportation services