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Bee Busy got its start in 2000 with the flagship program, The Results, a program using theater for HIV education in which two African Americans are in a health clinic preparing to receive their HIV test results. The couple exchange life-altering dialogue. Following the dramatization, the audience is engaged in an intense Q&A and offered free HIV/STI testing and screening.
Bee Busy’s brand of “edutainment” and the success of this program gained the attention of the City of Houston’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), who then awarded Bee Busy a contract to provide HIV/STI prevention seminars. During that first year, Bee Busy reached 1,681 youth and young adults and documented an increase in applied risk reduction in 77% of the participants.
In 2001, the agency was awarded a 4-year contract from the City of Houston (DHHS) to provide adolescent health education in schools, churches, community centers, and other venues. Services include prevention education and behavior modification and communication skills building. Bee Busy educated 4,551 youth in 2001 and documented an increase in applied risk reduction in more than 81% of the participants.
During 2002, the agency created the HIV In Tha’ Hood program, which consists of a 5- to 9-week abstinence-based curriculum. This curriculum, which is adaptable to changing needs and resources, has been presented to more than 5,261 youth, with a documented increase of risk reduction behavior by 89% of program participants. As of December 2006, Bee Busy provides health education and risk reduction services to approximately 6,000 youth and young adults annually with a documented 89% increase in applied risk reduction. |
