PWN-USA is welcoming spring, and along with it: our voter engagement season! In case you missed it, our voter campaigns for Spring 2024 have launched in TX & CO! PWN-PA’s campaign will launch in late March, focusing on harm reduction and decarcerating public health.

Our CO chapter is calling voters and testifying to educate the community on 2 harm reduction bills. If you are in CO, pressure your reps to say YES to HB 1028, which allows for Overdose Prevention Centers, and YES to HB 1037, which expands syringe exchange programs and protects people who use drugs from criminalization.

Our TX-Greater Houston Area chapter is calling voters and rallying support to pressure District Attorney and Sheriff candidates to commit to protect abortion access.

All PWN members are invited to join us on Tuesday, 03/11/24 at 5PM ET for PWN’s Road to AIDSWatch event! Register HERE!

Are you a PWN member attending AIDS Watch in Washington DC? Complete this form to let us know!

PWN is going to show up and show out! We are offering a couple of different training sessions open to members in preparation including, how to plan visits to elected officials, how to center the voices of women living with HIV during your state meetings, and a brief overview of the AIDSWatch policy briefs to review ahead of time. 

Congratulations to our February 2024 Shero of the Month, Kenya Moussa of Pennsylvania! Kenya (she/her) is a force to be reckoned with, and has been taking HIV advocacy by the reins. When Kenya puts her mind towards a goal, she really commits to it. A couple of years ago Kenya said that she really wanted to get better at speaking directly with legislators. Now, Kenya is a Health Not Prisons advocate, the Co-Chair of the PA HIV Justice Alliance (a coalition leading the effort to decriminalize HIV in the state), and she leads the PWN-PA chapter as Co-Chair.

This interview was hosted by our previous Shero of the Month, Dr. Carrie Foote of IN. Listen to the full conversation by clicking below! We are so proud to honor Kenya as February’s Shero! 💐

🏆 Congratulations to Lashanda Salinas (TN) for being honored at the Ruby Gala in Nashville, TN by the Vanderbilt Comprehensive Care Center on Feb 10th! 

She was awarded the Raffanti Award for her fierce advocacy to repeal HIV criminalization laws in TN. Read the article here! You can also watch her Ruby Gala interview here!

👏🏿 Shout out to our PWN-Louisiana chapter for giving public testimony on the harms of HIV criminalization at the HR 130 Task Force to Study HIV Criminalization Meeting! Watch the recording here (start at 51:55)!

People living with HIV are strong and resilient, and everyday holds something to celebrate. Submit anything you want to celebrated, anything from getting appointed to a Community Advisory Board or giving a shout out to your fav PWN-er. There’s nothing too small to be celebrated – let’s uplift all of the joy and wins in our communities! 🤠

BULI Membership Call
👋🏾 Black United Leadership Initiative is hosting its next member call Monday, 03/05/24 at 1PM PT/4PM ET! This call is open to Black folks living with HIV & Black folks working in this community. BULI is a network of Black activists & organizers working to end the criminalization of Black people. Join the call here: bit.ly/BULIMembership ❤️‍🔥

PWN National Membership Call
Our next PWN members call is today, Friday, 03/08/24 at 4:00PM ET/ 3:00PM CT/ 2:00PM MT/ 1:00PM PT. Note: you must register as a PWN member before getting the Zoom link. Register here!

PWN’s Road to AIDSWatch
We are in this together! Join PWN-USA members and staff as we prepare to attend the 31st annual AIDSWatch in Washington DC. We will review the policy briefs we will be discussing with our elected officials and will be sharing tips and trips to support our members engagement. Register HERE for our convo on Monday, 03/11/24 at 5:00PM ET!

Policy Fellows/HNP Advocates Training
Join us on Thursday, 03/14/24 at 6:00PM ET | 5:00PM CT | 4:00PM MT | 3:00PM PT for our next policy & advocacy training! This session will focus on Storytelling for Advocacy. Anyone is welcome to join, no matter your experience level! Register here!

BULI Love Check-In
BULI’s next Love Check-in is Friday, 03/15/24 at 4:30PM ET! 🫶🏿 Join using this link: bit.ly/bulilovecalls (all lowercase). Tiff knew we needed spaces like this – for Black folks in the HIV community to come together and just BE, outside of work obligations and tasks … To be connected … To be joyous … To vent … To process … To be Black AF! 👏🏾 Show up as you are for however long you want. WE’LL SEE YOU THERE! ❤️ *This is a protected space for Black folks only*

Sister Circle – Virtual Support Group
Are you a PWN member living with HIV? Join our virtual support group, Sister Circle, for a space to release and find peace! ✨ Join us Thursday, 03/21/24 at 8pm ET/7pm CT/5pm PT. Registration required to attend: bit.ly/PWNCARES (all caps). Hope to see you there! 💗

• “Changing Laws and Changing Live: HIV advocate Lashanda Salinas helped reform Tennessee’s HIV criminalization laws” (Poz Magazine) 
• Lashanda Salinas’ Ruby Gala Interview
• Criminalized Lives: HIV and Legal Violence by Alexander McClelland
• “How I helped change the law that put me and other Black people with HIV behind bars” (The Advocate)
• +Talk: Dr. Shanell L. McGoy & Lashanda Salinas (Plus Life)
• “On this National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, we must resist surveillance technology like MHS” by Elena Ferguson, PWN Policy Specialist (Prism)
• PWN’s January Monthly Policy Update
• Melanie Reese’s speech in support of HIV is Not a Crime Awareness Day and their current work in Maryland
• Health Not Prisons’ Collective Founder’s Panel video

• “Centering the Voices of Women Living With HIV: Naina Khanna bids farewell to PWN-USA” – Poz Magazine Article (02/07/24)
• “Introducing the New Co-Leaders of Positive Women’s Network: Marnina Miller and Keiva Lei Cadena” – The Body Article (02/16/24)