Get SMART

Are you SMART enough??

The Get SMART (students/supporters mobilized and retooled to transform) Project

The Get SMART Project aims to reduce HIV/STIs and substance abuse among emerging adults on the MSU campus and within a one radius of the university. The project pays young adults to learn more about HIV /STIs and substance abuse and to share that critical information with their social networks.

Fast Facts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012

23% of young people ages 15 - 24 report having had unprotected sex because they were drinking or using drugs

1 in 4 new HIV infections occurs in youth ages 13 to 24 years

About 60% of all youth, with HIV do not know they are infected, are not getting treated, and can unknowingly pass the virus on to others.

Key Risk Factors

For both males and females, having sex under the influence of drugs or alcohol can increase risky behaviors that could lead to becoming infected with HIV.

African Americans have a greater burden of HIV than other racial or ethnic groups in the US so they are at higher risk.

Higher rates of undiagnosed/untreated STDs can increase the risk of both acquiring and transmitting HIV. Many STDs are asymptomatic.
Get Smart funded by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA)