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Our voter engagement teams have been working hard these past weeks mobilizing and educating their communities. HUGE congratulations to all of our IVE staff, chapter members, and volunteers who made this another powerful election season! 🎉

Our PWN-PA crew knocked on 2,027 doors, called 6,957 voters, & ID’d 415 supporters of Safe Syringe Programs!

Our PWN-CO team contacted 5,442 voters, ID'd 244 supporters, and moved 263 folks to contact their representatives!

Do you believe in investing in harm reduction? Do you want to use your voice to protect our communities? Sign onto PWN-PA's petition letter to Tell the Philadelphia Mayor, City Council, & State Lawmakers to Invest in Harm Reduction! As described by Kendra Brooks, Philadelphia city council member at-large, more than 1,400 people died from overdoses in 2022. This is more than double the rate of deaths from gun violence, with the highest rates amongst Black men. Evidence confirms what we already know - harm reduction fights stigma and keeps our communities safer!

Huge shout out to our PWN-Alabama chapter for their outstanding work speaking with legislators for HIV Advocacy Day at the state capital! Our members pushed the largest HIV service organization in the state to more meaningfully engage people living with HIV in the planning of this advocacy day. They advocated for access to quality healthcare, support for SB 13 (a constitutional amendment protecting individuals’ right to make their own reproductive decisions), and bodily autonomy. 

"As we remember the campaigns of Act-up and Silence=Death, and the ashes to the White House Lawn and all the lobbying and sit-ins, and marches, and activism- we memorialize community loss yet we inspire each other in this fight. As we go from patient rights to human rights, we are more than just a number!" -Numerical Disorder by Lisa Johnson-Lett

Did you miss AIDSWatch? Did you attend & want to revisit the memories? Check out these blog posts from our members who participated! 🤓

"We, as members of PWN-USA came to AIDSWatch, we came with the purpose to have our voices heard from across the US. As women living with HIV, we are the experts on living with HIV and our fundamental needs to live out loud and to live life on our terms."

-Tana Pradia (TX)

"My state brought the second largest delegation to AIDSWatch with nineteen people from Alabama. This year’s AIDSWatch theme was 'We’re All In This Together.' We are stronger together and we join generations of advocates who have come to Washington for years."

-Katie Willingham (AL)

"The most impactful part were the stories told by each of us living with HIV.  It would not have been nearly as successful without our voices. 'Nothing about us without us.' The best part for everyone there was being in Washington, D.C. when the FY24 Budget was passed and there were no funding cuts for HIV/AIDS programs!"

-Marcya Gullatte (AL)

"We are so much more than just people living with HIV, we are courageous, intrepid experts who know how to write and understand policy. We are so beautifully diverse. We are too stunning to be ignored! We are too confident to be intimidated! ¡Nosotres somos fuertes! We know that together we are unstoppable."

-Susan Mull (PA)

Congratulations to our April 2024 Shero of the Month, Brielle LaKay Gillis (she/her) of Texas!

A PWN member since 2016, Brielle is originally from New Orleans, Louisiana and was raised in Houston, Texas. She graduated from Booker T. Washington High School, took courses at Texas Southern University, and is a medical assistant by trade. Brielle was nominated for a trans advocate award in Baton Rouge, where she began her advocacy journey. She owns her own company H&A Support Services where she focuses on linkage to care. Brielle shows no signs of stopping her level of advocacy and shows nothing but outstanding leadership that will progress.

This interview was hosted by our previous Shero of the Month, Millicent Foster of LA. Listen to the full conversation by clicking below! We are so proud to honor Brielle as our April Shero! 💐

👑 Brielle's Runway Song: "I Shall Wear a Crown" by Yolanda Deberry 👑

🤓 Check out Marnina Miller (PWN-USA Co-Director) presenting a poster at Translational Science 2024 conference on the importance of community involvement in research!

🤩 Shout out to MJ Maestas (PWN-CO) for being selected for the 2024 Lived Leadership Internship Program by the National HIV/AIDS Housing Coalition! She was also recently appointed to the board of The Latina Safehouse in Denver!

🏆 Congrats to CiCi Covin & Masonia Traylor (CHBW 2023 Trailblazers) for their World AIDS Day Hulu special Unexpected getting nominated for 2 Daytime Emmy Awards (Outstanding Daytime Special & Outstanding Original Song)!

✊ Big thanks to MJ and Toi from PWN-CO for submitting written testimony for the OPC bill 1028! It failed in the Senate Health & Human Services committee, but we went down fighting with 10 people testifying opposed and 40 testifying in support!

People living with HIV are strong and resilient, and every day holds something to celebrate. Submit anything you want to celebrated, 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! 🤠

Our next PWN members call is Friday, 05/10/24 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!

BULI's next Love Check-in is Friday, 05/10/24 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*

👋🏾 Black United Leadership Initiative is hosting its next member call Monday, 05/14/24 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 ❤️‍🔥

Calling all PWN members! We invite you to join our upcoming listening session on Thursday, 05/16/24 at 6PM ET/ 5PM CT/ 4PM MT/ 3PM PT/ 12PM HT. Policy touches our lives every day, such as access to essentials like healthcare, housing, food, education, and childcare. We want to hear directly from YOU what priorities are for your communities. Register here!

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, 05/16/24 at 8pm ET/7pm CT/5pm PT. Registration required to attend: bit.ly/PWNCARES (all caps). Hope to see you there! 💗

• "PWN Commemorates International Trans Day of Visibility" on Poz Magazine's Blog 
• "Palestinian Liberation is Reproductive Justice, Period" by PWN-USA (04/08/24)
• Watching the Watcher: Intersections of surveillance and criminalization in HIV and SRHC webinar recording 
• #HIVResists March Monthly Policy Update 
• Triggered podcast by Sanjay - “Grief To Joy”
  
  • Having candid dialogue on experience with HIV Criminalization, the aftermath with the joys after becoming a victor

• "How Finding Community Helped this HIV Advocate Reclaim Her Purpose" - TheBody (04/08/24)
  • Featuring LaTrischa Miles, PWN-USA Board of Directors Co-Chair & Founding Member
• "Introducing the New AIDS Czar: Francisco Ruiz, M.S." - TheBody (04/16/24)

If you've been to a PWN celebration in the past few years, then you've grooved to the song stylings of our very own DJ Big Sal, a.k.a. Sallie Thomas - the decriminalization specialist on our policy team. Now she's bringing you a song selection to get your joy on! DJ Big Sal's song of the month is....

You can check out our previous celebration playlists on Spotify HERE!

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