August 30, 2019

• Meet Our Shero of the Month: LaTrischa Miles
• Organizing Spotlight: PWN Georgia Tackles the Atlanta HOPWA Crisis
• Community Advocacy Update: Measuring HIV-related Stigma & Discrimination
• Going to USCA? Brush Up on Your Advocacy Skills
• PWN Will Be at USCA! Here’s Where to Find Us!

Meet our Shero of the Month: LaTrischa Miles

Our August 2019 Shero of the Month is LaTrischa Miles from Olathe, Missouri. Naina Khanna, PWN Executive Director, said, “LaTrischa has been a steady and critical part of PWN’s journey since the beginning. As an early steering committee member and now our Board chair, she has helped to steer PWN towards clarity with our strategies and approaches. She brings years of expertise in developing nationally renowned peer-based programming, which helps ensure access to care and stigma reduction for people living with HIV, and has even trained for and run marathons to raise funds for HIV-related causes! LaTrischa is an inspirational and dedicated advocate who deeply cares about her community, and we are lucky to have her as part of our team.”

In her advocacy, LaTrischa prioritizes HIV decriminalization. When she learned about Missouri’s HIV criminalization statute, she knew she had to do something. She said, “Change starts with individuals that call out injustice when basic rights are being violated. I kept thinking, basic rights are being violated here.” On December 8, 2011, LaTrischa, Positive Justice Project, and the Center for HIV Law & Policy held the first public meeting to discuss HIV decriminalization strategies. Stakeholders from AIDS service organizations, the Kansas City Health Department, the mayor’s office and community were present. LaTrischa has testified twice before Missouri’s House Committee on Health and Mental Health to garner support of HB 166 and HB 167, which would update the current HIV laws to reflect modern science.

Organizing Spotlight: PWN Georgia Tackles the Atlanta HOPWA Crisis

The federal housing program, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA), was created in recognition that health outcomes for people living with HIV are dramatically improved when they have stable housing. An ongoing dispute between the City and one of its nonprofit HOPWA grantees that provides housing services has led to eviction notices and power shut-offs for hundreds of Atlantans living with HIV, as the City refused to give the promised funding to the nonprofit and landlords went unpaid. PWN members are among those affected by the failure of the City and its HOPWA service providers to meet the housing needs of people living with HIV, and have also been among those speaking out and demanding meaningful change.

We interviewed PWN Georgia State Lead Shyronn Jones to get an understanding of the housing crisis that affected people in Atlanta living with HIV, and how PWN members have been responding.

Q. How did the impacted community advocate for the HOPWA crisis to be resolved?

A. A coalition of local advocates had been requesting HOPWA reforms for more than a year. Most recently, on July 16, community advocates sent the City of Atlanta a letter signed by 95 people requesting the City Council to return immediately from recess to legislate solutions to the crisis. Atlanta City Council did not respond with urgency; their proposal to release $1.5 million to cover 8 HOPWA entities was held for a vote on Aug. 5.

Advocates also demanded answers, accountability, and solutions from Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms administration at its August 1 community meeting to discuss the City of Atlanta’s proposed plan for restructuring how the city manages federal grants, including aligning the future programmatic management of HOPWA funds under the Atlanta Homeless Continuum Of Care, managed by Partners For HOME.

Lisa Britt, a member of PWN and part of the group of local advocates in Atlanta who have been organizing to push the City of Atlanta officials to resolve this HOPWA housing crisis, is one of those who almost lost her housing because of the City’s failure to pay. You can read Lisa Britt personal story in her op-ed published on thebody.com.

Community Advocacy Update

Measuring HIV-Related Stigma and Discrimination

UNAIDS is coordinating the development of summary measures of HIV-related stigma and discrimination and stigma and discrimination experience by key populations most affected by the AIDS response. These summary measures will:

• Provide better understanding of the status of HIV-related stigma and discrimination and progress towards their elimination;
• Inform action to address stigma and discrimination related to the HIV response;
• Support advocacy for addressing HIV-related stigma and discrimination; and
• Highlight data gaps.

To ensure these measures are meaningful and reflect people’s lived realities and experiences, the virtual consultation aims to be as inclusive as possible and is open to all.

Over three weeks (from August 19 to September 6), participants can engage in online discussions on key questions structured around three aspects of measuring stigma and discrimination related to the HIV-response. Visit www.measuringhivstigma.com for more information and to participate in the discussion.

Going to USCA? Brush Up on Your Skills with PWN’s Complete Guide to Advocacy

Are you headed to USCA next week? There will be lots of representatives of federal agencies there to talk about the new federal “End the Epidemic” plan. This is a great time to refresh your advocacy skills!

Check out Part 1 of PWN’s free multimedia advocacy toolkit: Claiming Our Place at the Table to get started or brush up on policy advocacy. Our complete guide to advocacy for people living with HIV is designed to help brand new advocates and seasoned advocates alike, with videos, resources, templates, webinar recordings, and more to help get you up to speed fast.

PWN Will Be at USCA! Here’s Where You Can Find Us!

Calling all PWN members who will be at USCA in Washington, D.C., for a special PWN membership meeting Thurs., Sept. 5, at 9am!

The next couple of years will be busy and important for the future of our country and for our communities. Come hear about what PWN has planned for the next 2 years and opportunities to get involved! 9:00 am – 11:00 am, Mt. Vernon Square room in main USCA hotel (Marriott Marquis).

Whether you are at USCA or at home, you can follow us on Twitter to get in on the conversation by using the hashtags #pwnspeaks #2019USCA. Click here or the button below to see where you will find us at USCA.