CHARITIES

Urban Living Tampa Bay Gives Back to the Community

We here at Urban Living Tampa Bay acknowledge how lucky we are to have a home and a successful business in this economy, and are very grateful to our clients that have allowed that to happen. Unfortunately, so many people are not as fortunate today, and we are taking efforts to improve the lives of those people. While we may only be able to help a few, every little bit helps, and we ask you to join us in the effort to help those less fortunate than us.

Urban Living Tampa Bay is proudly sponsoring The Ybor City Youth Clinic, and a portion of our profits monthly are being dedicated to these endangered youth.

The University of South Florida, as well as concerned private individuals, are honored to announce the realization of The Ybor Youth Clinic (YYC).

The YYC is filling a long-recognized, yet unmet need in the Tampa Bay Area. We are reaching out to provide care to youth in Tampa Bay that have been ignored, underserved, or have not felt welcomed or comfortable in traditional health care settings. Many of these youth are homeless, and while we cannot provide housing for them all, we can at least try to keep them safe and healthy . The youth served by YYC will include, but will not be limited to, HIV positive and high-risk youth; Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender or Questioning youth (GLBTQ); homeless and street youth; and youth engaged in sex work. Our care is open to all regardless of socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender identity, racial and ethnic group or any other community characteristics that have promoted disparities in health status. Never before in the Tampa Bay Area has an effort such as the YYC been undertaken to help such vulnerable and hard to reach populations.

Our mission is to provide the highest quality, innovative, compassionate and nonjudgmental health care services to our youth in an environment tailored to their specific and unique needs. Our services are designed to not only address the immediate medical and mental health care needs of youth, but to keep them engaged in a health care environment that promotes personal growth and healing, healthful behaviors, safety and wellness. Providing our youth with the support and resources to heal while helping them build the tools to enter adulthood with hope and confidence is at the essence of our philosophy. Our health care services will include HIV testing and treatment; primary, specialty and episodic care; GYN and contraceptive care; comprehensive STI testing and treatment; psychiatric and mental health screening and care; and access to various adolescent research trials. In time, we will implement training programs for prospective nurses and physicians aspiring to gain the necessary knowledge and skills suitable to working with these vulnerable populations.

Through our own direct social services or through collaborations with or referrals to our community partners we will offer case management services, enrollment into various health care coverage programs, psycho-educational and support groups, domestic violence interventions, and outreach strategies to indentify youth not yet engaged in care.

The basic funding for our clinic, including rent; utilities; basic office supplies; and the medical, mental health and social services staff is provided through many of our grants. However the medical equipment and supplies, clinic furnishings, and funding for basic care needs of non-insured youth is largely dependent upon donations from concerned and caring individuals and community groups. We have found that many individuals and groups are concerned about these underserved youth, but until now had no certain means of seeing their support used directly, appropriately, and to help the youth living in their own community. Please be a concerned and supporting partner of the Ybor Youth Clinic. All donations made to the YYC in care of the USF Foundation are tax deductable.