In this issue:
- Meet our PWN-USA Shero of the Month for February 2018, Sarah Jackson!
- Don’t miss your chance to register for SPEAK UP! 2018: Registration closes tomorrow!
- Support women living with HIV as a sponsor or supporting organization of SPEAK UP! 2018
- Join us March 8 for PWNCares: Disclosure–It’s Complicated
- Upcoming events you won’t want to miss
Meet the PWN-USA Shero of the Month, Sarah Jackson!
Last month, we introduced our very first PWN-USA Shero of the Month–a woman living with HIV who consistently goes above and beyond to support, advocate for and improve the lives of women living with HIV and their community. Know someone who fits that description? You can nominate a Shero of the Month here.
Our Shero of the Month for February 2018 is Sarah Jackson of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. According to PWN-USA Organizing Director Waheedah Shabazz-El, who nominated Sarah for this honor, “Sarah has faced lots of personal struggles over the past two years, but she has not wavered in her responsibility as a co-chair of the PWN-USA Louisiana chapter. Sarah speaks volumes about leadership and integrity when she declares, ‘No matter what happens with our chapter, I am staying. Our capacity may go up and down, but I am staying! I’m always going to be here.'”
When asked what gives her the motivation and drive to continue in her advocacy and leadership despite personal challenges, Sarah said, “I prayed hard and asked God for guidance. [I’m driven by] sheer determination. You can’t give up at the first thing that goes wrong. You have to keep pushing forward. After all that has happened, I still can’t give up.”
What has she learned in her years of advocacy and as co-chair of PWN-USA Louisiana? “All people living with HIV are important. We are important people. We are the ones that know how the medicines work with our bodies. That’s why I advocate to help people understand about HIV transmission, prevention and everything, to teach them that it’s not a death sentence. You can live with it.”
Her advice for a woman recently diagnosed with HIV? “Get into treatment! Wherever you are. Seek out who offers HIV treatment and start your treatment. Ask God for guidance. That’s what I had to do. I had nobody to talk to when I was diagnosed. My mom had Alzheimer’s and didn’t know who I was. I told my sister, but she had cancer and she was dying. If you have a close-knit family it’s good, but find somebody you can talk to. You can’t hold it in. You have too many mixed feelings to deal with by yourself. You need to pull other women in. Let them know. Be a friend. A simple conversation, you’d be surprised–a simple conversation can lead to great things.”
Registration for SPEAK UP! 2018 Closes TOMORROW. Don’t Miss Your Chance!
Women and people of trans experience living with HIV across the nation can’t wait for SPEAK UP! 2018, the only national leadership summit by and for women living with HIV, happening April 12-15 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Click on the image to the left to hear what PWN-USA Membership Engagement Coordinator Evany Turk‘s 3 reasons why YOU should attend SPEAK UP! 2018!
Women living with HIV from 26 states, Washington, DC, and Canada are already registered. Join folks from your state, or make sure your state gets represented!
But you need to hurry–registration closes TOMORROW, Wed. 2/28! Your $250 registration fee, which includes 3 nights of shared accommodations at the DoubleTree Myrtle Beach Oceanfront Resort, meals and snacks and all training materials, is well below the cost of most conferences and is made possible by the generous support of our sponsors. Click the image to the right to hear from PWN-USA South Carolina member Monique Howell or on the image below to hear from Arianna Lint on why you don’t want to miss the Summit!
If you have already held your spot with a deposit, you’ll need to complete payment before midnight tomorrow, Feb. 28 to keep your spot.
We have helpful fundraising tips available here, including a template of a letter you can use to request funds from agencies, clinics, organizations or individuals. If you work or volunteer with or get services from an agency or organization, you may want to ask them to sponsor a group of 5 or more women (including yourself!) to attend SPEAK UP! 2018 at a special discounted rate.
Support Leadership Development and Community of Women Living with HIV as a SPEAK UP! 2018 Sponsor or Supporting Organization!
PWN-USA is committed to ensuring women living with HIV from communities most impacted by the epidemic are able to participate. But to do that, we need your help!
Your support will cover lodging, meals and other participation costs for low-income women and people of trans experience living with HIV. Further, your support will allow us to resource high-quality panels, workshops and breakout activities for participants.
Thank you to our sponsors at AIDS Healthcare Foundation, AIDS United, Amida Care, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, Ford Foundation, Housing Works and MAC AIDS Fund for your generous support!
Sponsorship opportunities are still available! We have several levels of sponsorship available, which include placement in our special 10th anniversary keepsake program. Get the details and sign up as a sponsor here, or contact Executive Director Naina Khanna at [email protected].
To commemorate PWN-USA’s 10th anniversary, we are producing a special anniversary program journal for SPEAK UP! To reserve a space in the 10th anniversary journal, contact Naina Khanna at [email protected].
#PWNCares 3: Disclosure–It’s Complicated. Join Us Thurs., March 8, at 3pm EST for an Important #NWGHAAD Conversation.
“Who can I tell? Who should I tell? How do I decide–and how do I do it?” These simple questions are often the toughest for someone newly diagnosed with HIV – and for many of us, they don’t get easier to answer.
More Upcoming Can’t-Miss Events!
Do NWGHAAD with The Well Project on March 9, 12pm EST!
Join our partners at The Well Project Friday, March 9, for a special webinar for National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NWGHAAD). The speakers will provide an in-depth look at The Well Project’s comprehensive resources and discuss how they can be leveraged to build knowledge and leadership skills, how they can be used to educate and advocate for others, and how they can support community building. This session will also address ways that emerging leaders can leverage social media in their advocacy. Register here.
Raise Your Voice at AIDSWatch! Register Today
Make your voice count! Join PWN-USA at the nation’s largest annual constituent-based national HIV/AIDS advocacy event. AIDSWatch brings together hundreds of people living with HIV and their allies to meet with members of Congress and to educate them about the important issues at stake for people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States. The 25th Anniversary of the event, AIDSWatch will take place March 26 & 27, 2018 in Washington D.C.
Are you a woman or person of trans experience living with HIV planning on attending AIDSWatch? Let PWN-USA know here!
Join Us at HIV Is Not a Crime III Training Academy. Registration Is Now Open!
HIV is Not a Crime III, the third national training academy to educate and train 300 people living with HIV (PLHIV), stakeholders and policy leaders to mobilize state-level advocacy to end HIV-related criminalization, will be held June 3 – 6, 2018, at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI).
HIV is Not a Crime III will once again unite and train advocates living with HIV and allies from across the country about laws criminalizing people living with HIV and on strategies and best practices for repealing such laws. Skills-building trainings, with an emphasis on grassroots organizing, advocacy, coalition-building and campaign planning, will leave participants with concrete tools and resources to work on state-level strategies when they return home.
Registration is now open! Register today!
Positive Women’s Network – USA is a national membership body of women living with HIV and our allies that exists to strengthen the strategic power of all women living with HIV in the United States. Founded in 2008 by 28 diverse HIV-positive women leaders, PWN-USA develops a leadership pipeline and policy agenda that applies a gender lens to the domestic HIV epidemic grounded in social justice and human rights.