The goals of the Youth Popular Opinion Leaders (YPOL) are:

1. Create leaders by intensively focusing training youth in communication strategies surrounding difficult health conversation with both adults and peers in their lives;
2. Reduce youth risk for contracting STIs including HIV by providing knowledge around safer sex practices;
3. To increase youth participation in advocacy and policy initiatives, and;
4. To provide youth with the education around self-care, self-advocacy, and self-motivation. YPOL will result in the development of critical social and emotional skills among YPOL peers, including communication, self-advocacy, and self-efficacy, and will increase exposure and access to educational and employment opportunities (e.g., HBCU tours).