The MPower Project (aka XCYTE) was an HIV prevention intervention designed to reduce the risk of HIV in young, gay males in Houston, Texas. The project was based upon similar projects in Austin and California and focused on the creation and nurturance of a social support network of peers to reinforce HIV education messages and behavior change. To measure the effectiveness of the program, a baseline of data was collected in the fall of 2001 with 95 respondents - Wave 1. Data for the comparisons were collected from 33 respondents in the fall of 2002.

Young gay men come to the Montrose area from many outlying areas to socialize with their peers. This implies that they come because the distance affords them anonymity; or conversely, there is no social outlet closer to their homes. The experience at XCYTE seems to indicate that once individuals are in the Montrose area, their interests are in patronizing the local clubs and bars rather than spending time at the XCYTE house. One reason could be that the program is non-alcoholic. However, this is an anecdotal observation.

While the MPower/XCYTE program has worked successfully in other cities, this was not the case in Houston. Even after a year of promotion, advertising, and outreach, the program was not able to recreate the social networking model that has been effectively demonstrated in Austin.