PROJECT TEACHES ABOUT AIDS; INCARCERATED TEENS GET ORGANIZATION'S MESSAGE WHERE THEY LIVE.

Byline: Greg Botonis Staff Writer

Their hands shot up in salutes as they marched to the cadence called by their drill instructor. The creases in their fatigues were sharp, the shine on their boots reflected the glare of the morning sun.

Inside the Camp Mendenhall gymnasium, the platoons lined up before their seats, then sat in one fluid movement. Each teen-ager looked attentive and focused on the day's subject.

The topic this time, however, was something they had heard again and again. It would not be led by their drill instructor but by a concerned woman and five other people - mostly teens like themselves - with the goal of saving their lives.

Today's topic: AIDS 101, led by Life Challenge Project director Brenda Pence, her daughter Fara Strahan, and four people who all have been behind bars and are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus or have a loved one who is.

Pence's students were 100 teen-agers ranging in age from 13 to 18, incarcerated at the Mendenhall youth detention facility, which is run by the Los Angeles County Probation Department.

``The Life Challenge Project is more than just boring information presented to these kids by people who don't care about who they're teaching,'' said Pence. ``We go from camp to camp and teach the kids the facts, but also how to avoid the at-risk behavior that could lead to the contraction of the diseases. We care about whether they live or die and they know it.''

The program is part of the Catalyst Foundation, a nonprofit Lancaster organization which provides free medical care and supportive services, including food delivery, to persons living with HIV or acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

Currently Catalyst's Life Challenge program has nine ``peer educators,'' who visit nearly 450 young men and women in five detention facilities in the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys, offering instruction, guidance, and in some cases a shoulder to cry on.

The classes last nearly three hours and cover fully - and graphically - the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C, and ways they can be avoided, like the proper application of condoms.

Both logic and scare tactics are used to get the point across.

Strahan passes around ``before'' and ``after'' photos of an AIDS victim - in health and then deteriorating from the virus.

``You never know how the disease will affect you until you get it,'' Strahan told the boys in the gym. ``It's a crap shoot. You could look fine but be suffering inside or you could have the flesh peeling from your body. Either way, it'll kill you.''

Expelling the myths behind the virus is an important part of the program, according to Pence.

``A lot of these kids are misinformed about the disease,'' said Pence. ``Some get scared when they get around someone with HIV or AIDs and others think it can't touch them, which is why we use the peer educators.''

Peer educators serve two uses. After several failed attempts at offering basic education and information, the program's leaders discovered the results were better when youth leaving detention facilities were trained and hired on as staff to teach other incarcerated juveniles.

``We don't just come out here and teach this, we get them involved,'' said one peer educator, who asked to be identified only as Jerry, for fear of discrimination. ``We've been through this and we can understand what they're thinking, so it makes it easier to show them how to turn their lives around.''

Using peer educators and individuals personally affected by the disease will lessen barriers caused by age, related feelings of invulnerability and denial among the students, program leaders believe.

An important part of the presentation is the personal experience the story tellers share, which in many cases are very similar to the experiences the incarcerated youth have had.

``A lot of these kids are good kids who just went the wrong way,'' said Pence. ``One of the biggest problems we have is that these kids go back to the same environment they came from and start with the same behavior. Our goal is to keep these kids from going back to that behavior, to avoid the life that could end their life.''

One Life Challenge Project peer educator said the job changed his life, and probably saved it.

``They found me in Challenger Hall,'' said the teen, who asked to be identified only as Arnold. ``At first I rebelled against it because you're young and you don't buy it. After I was released I realized that Compton wasn't the place for me. They gave me a job, helped me get into school, and found me a place to live and now I'm doing things I never thought were possible. For me, they saved a life that everyone thought was lost.''

Several of the peer educators are currently enrolled at Antelope Valley College in majors ranging from administration of justice to journalism.

With help from the recent acquisition of a $20,000 grant from the California Community Foundation, the program has been able to expand its services to visiting all five centers. Previously it could only visit 20 students a week at Challenger Memorial Youth Center in Lancaster.

``It's really great to see the changes in these kids,'' said Lawrence. ``They listen and learn and then when they get done with their time they come back to help other kids. They see the importance of trying to stop others from doing what they had done or almost done.''

For more information on the program or to donate or volunteer, call [phone].