In this issue:
- Meet Our Shero of the Month: Davina Conner
- PWN-USA Soars High with R.I.S.E. Training Academy
- Remembering Deloris Dockrey, Our Community Champion
- Feeling Crafty? Join Us on Fridays!
- COVID-19 and People Living with HIV: FAQ
- Have You Seen the New ICW-NA?
- Intimate Partner Violence Is a Crisis Within a Crisis. Here Are Resources.
- #PWNCares Sister Circle Virtual Support Group
Meet Our Shero of the Month: Davina Conner
Our April 2020 Shero of the Month is Davina Conner, better known as Pozitively Dee, of Denver, Colorado. Davina is a mother and grandmother as well as a twin sister. Since she was diagnosed, Davina has been vocal about the injustices that people living with HIV face. She has been a huge advocate for de-stigmatizing HIV. Tiommi Luckett, PWN-USA communications and training assistant, said, “Dee consistently brings love and compassion wherever she is. In my time with Dee, I’ve appreciated that she is slow to express anger and quick to admit what she does not fully understand about the experiences of others living with HIV.”
Davina is the host of a podcast, Pozitively Dee–a platform she uses to combat the stigma associated with HIV. She began with internet radio on BlogTalkRadio.com. The show is now streamed live on social media, and she envisions the podcast growing to the point of having live, on-set interviews. She said, “As long as I can keep reaching people, I will not stop the show because educating others is all that matters.”
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PWN Soars High with R.I.S.E. Training Academy
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How are you centering the voices of women of trans experience of color living with HIV? How does your organization support the leadership of folks of trans experience? What is currently underway to ensure that women of trans experience of color living with HIV are given a fair shot of representation in the HIV workforce?
PWN, the premier national membership body of women living with HIV, in collaboration with Transgender Strategy Center, is proud to share our new program, R.I.S.E. (Resist, Inspire, Sustain Through Education) to train, prepare, and coach trans women of color living with HIV to be certified PWN trainers, who will develop and deliver workshops in the areas of trans history, trans justice as it intersects with racial justice, trans-centered reproductive justice, and PWN herstory.
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Remembering Deloris Dockrey, Our Community Champion
ICW, GNP+ and PWN-USA mourn the loss of all of our former Board member and community champion Deloris Dockrey, who passed due to complications with COVID-19. For anyone that knew Deloris she was a ray of light and positivity as well as a fierce advocate for the rights of people living with HIV, in particular women. She was a mentor to many, who shared her knowledge and inspired numerous others. As a leader within Positive Women’s Network-USA, Deloris helped shape thinking around sexual and reproductive rights as well as quality of care for women with HIV, mentored many emerging leaders, and connected us to a global community of women with HIV. She will be dearly missed.
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Feeling Crafty? Or Just Want Some Company? Join PWN’s Friday Craft Club Tomorrow at 8pm EDT!
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You don’t have to be an expert crafter or artist to come hang out with us! We make crafts from random objects you already have in your house, like old socks, paper, and aluminum foil. We’ve made sock puppets, crowns, and tiaras in past sessions–tomorrow, we’re making flowers!
Friday evenings is where it’s at! 8pm EDT/7pm CDT/6pm MDT/5pm PDT.
Want to join? Email Barb at [email protected] to get the info to join the fun!
COVID-19 and People Living with HIV: Frequently Asked Questions
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, 10 national, community-centered HIV service & advocacy organizations partnered to create a resource guide focused on supporting people living with HIV (PLHIV). The COVID-19 and People Living with HIV: Frequently Asked Questions document provides clear and culturally responsive information to ensure PLHIV and communities disproportionately impacted by HIV have a reliable resource for the latest information to help them protect and take care of themselves.
The resource guide reflects the clinical practices and information currently available put forth by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Infectious Diseases Society (IDSA), the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA), health departments and other local, national, and global public health entities. The COVID-19 and People Living with HIV: Frequently Asked Questions document will be updated regularly as more information is learned about COVID-19, the impact of co-infection of COVID-19 and HIV on PLHIV, and the development of available vaccines and treatments for this coronavirus.
| View the resource guide here! |
Have You Seen the New ICW-NA?!
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| Check out the website and sign up as a member here! |
Intimate Partner Violence Is a Crisis Within a Crisis During This Pandemic. We’ve Got Some Resources.
Cisgender and transgender women living with HIV are disproportionately vulnerable to intimate partner violence (IPV) even in the best of times–55% report having experienced IPV in their lives, twice the rate of women more generally. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting stay-at-home orders, the danger is exacerbated by financial distress, the inability to get out of harm’s way by leaving the house, and a shortage of many of the mechanisms people escaping IPV typically turn to, such as domestic violence shelters.
While there are no easy answers, PWN, with the support of our partners at National Network to End Domestic Violence, has produced and curated some resources for women living with HIV experiencing IPV (or coping with the trauma of past IPV) and for HIV and IPV service providers that we hope will be helpful during this extraordinarily difficult time.
| Check out the resource page here |
Join the #PWNCares Sister Circle Virtual Support Group
Have you heard? PWN recently started a virtual support group, in recognition of the fact that in-person support groups have been cancelled during the pandemic and services scaled back. Participants have described the PWNCares Sister Circle virtual support group as a “safe, judgment-free space” to share what’s on their minds and hearts and to seek and give support.
If you are a cis or trans woman living with HIV who would like to join the virtual support group, please register now! And share this information with women and trans folks living with HIV who could use the support!
| Register here! |