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PWN-USA invites everyone to join us for our 4th annual Celebrate & Honor Black Women in the HIV Movement event! This year, our theme is Black Women United in all Shades of Blackness. We See You. We Hear You. Black women have been here doing the work. In the HIV movement, Black women are the mentors, caregivers, the elders, the long-term survivors, lifetime survivors, and Dandelions. When Black women work together, communities thrive.

Join us for our celebration on Friday, August 16th at 5PM ET/4PM CT/3PM MT/2PM PT/11AM HT. Be sure to follow us on social media here, and share our event with your friends and comrades! Stay tuned for more updates about our flagship event. 

Come get out the vote with us this fall campaign season! 

It's that time of year again! PWN-USA is seeking motivated individuals to work as door-to-door canvassers for the upcoming general election. This campaign will focus on getting out the vote and building political power, focusing on issues like reproductive justice, harm reduction, getting out the vote, and more. We are still hiring for canvassers in PA (North Philly area) & CO (Denver area)! 

We are also hiring for three, new temporary part-time positions to be our Fall Campaign Communications Consultants! We are looking for three motivated individuals to work as consultants as part of each of our fall voter engagement campaigns in these states: PA (North Philly area), CO (Denver area) and TX (Greater Houston Area).

These campaigns will focus on getting out the vote, building political power, and educating voters about the issues that matter most to our communities. Consultants will focus their efforts on capturing the amazing work happening in these campaigns, creating content for social media, and developing messaging to inform the public about our work. The consultants will receive communications training and one-on-one coaching to learn new skills in this area. Please note, the consultants must be local to the election campaign area!

PWN-USA Board of Directors recently finished a successful board retreat in Kansas City, MO. Marnina Miller (she/her), one of PWN's co-executive directors, shares: 

"During the board retreat, we celebrated PWN's 16th anniversary with our new leadership and welcomed two new board members. We strengthened relationships between board members and co-directors through engaging in team-building activities and open dialogue sessions. The board reviewed and updated organizational policies and procedures, and we prepared for an upcoming strategic planning session for the coming years with support from PWN's founding director, Naina Khanna. Additionally, we gained insights into the current political landscape through a presentation by another former PWN ED, Venita Ray. The board also participated in a development training with Neena Bankhead Smith to ensure that we are well-prepared for the future." 

Our PWN-Louisiana chapter joined the Louisiana Coalition on Criminalization & Health last weekend with other coalition members across the state for their Strategic Planning Retreat 2024 in New Orleans! This session was sponsored by The Sero Project, the U.S. People Living with HIV Caucus, and the Health Not Prisons Collective. Check out this video recap of the retreat from LCCH on social media!

“The retreat went so well! LCCH, Tami [Haught], and Deidre [Johnson] worked well to make some decisions on beginning our plans for next steps. We developed some goals to bring back to the coalition to be voted on. Robert Shuttle was also on hand with his extensive knowledge.”

- Meta Smith-Davis, PWN-LA Member

Congratulations to our July 2024 Shero of the Month, Deborah Somoye (she/her) of Texas!

Deborah has recently joined the PWN-Greater Houston Area chapter, and has taken on a leadership role as secretary. She is committed to seeing other women living with HIV exist in a world free of stigma that honors their dignity, and she's beginning with the community around her. Deborah is active in her chapter’s voter engagement campaigns, and recently graduated as a 2024 PWN-USA Policy Fellow. Read more about her practicum project here! 

This interview was hosted by our previous Shero of the Month Marcya Gullatte (she/her) of AL. Listen to the full conversation by clicking below! We are so proud to honor Deborah as our July Shero! 💐

🤩 We invite everyone to join us in celebrating all of the PWN members who submitted abstract proposals to recent conferences such as U.S. Conference on HIV/AIDS (USCHA) and Positive Living!

If you are a PWN member whose abstract was accepted, presenting at a workshop, or tabling in the convention hall - let us know! 

If you are attending USCHA 2024 or Positive Living 2024 conferences, we want to know! Fill out the forms below so we can stay in touch and keep you updated on all things PWN at these conferences!

💯 Congratulations to the following folks whose USCHA abstracts were accepted:

• Valerie Pinkston (MS): Lessons to Navigating HOPWA and Housing Challenges, Advocacy and Opportunity
• Katryna Gholston & Marcya Gullatte (AL): What You’re Not Going To Do Is EXCLUDE US!
• Leah Freeman & LaShanda Salinas (TN): Women’s Voices, a Crucial Part of HIV Decriminalization Advocacy
• PWN-Louisiana Chapter: Liberation Way: Creating Inclusive Spaces for Black Women in HIV
• Barb Cardell (CO): We Aren’t Ending Any Epidemic Without Meaningfully Including Trans Folks
• Grace Rutha (PA): Black Women First - Emerging Leaders Training by and for BWWHIV

🎉 Congratulations to the following folks whose Positive Living abstracts were accepted:

• Te Ann Green, Melanie Reese (MD), & Wanda Brendle-Moss (NC): Telling Our Story
• Shekinah Rose (PA): Understanding & Advocating Against HIV Criminalization in Transgender Communities
• Valerie Pinkston (MS): Lessons to Navigating HOPWA and Housing Challenges, Advocacy and Opportunity

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! 🤠

Are you a PWN member living with HIV? Join our virtual support group, Sister Circle, for a space to release, connect, and find peace! ✨ Join us Thursday, 07/25/24 & Thursday, 08/08/24 at 8PM ET/7PM CT/6PM MT/5PM PT/2PM HT. Registration required to attend: bit.ly/PWNCARES (all caps). Hope to see you there! 💗

Join the Positive Women's Network-Texas, Greater Houston Area Chapter and our community partners for our annual back to school backpack drive in Aldine. We will be helping students and teachers in the community get ready for the new school year. There will be fun giveaways for the kids and you'll be able to update your voter registration and take the pledge to vote in the 2024 election!
Let us know you and the kids are coming! https://bit.ly/2024pwnghabts

Join us for Celebrate & Honor Black Women in the HIV Movement (CHBW) 2024 on Friday, 08/16/24 at 5PM ET/4PM CT/3PM MT/2PM PT/11AM HT. Our theme this year is Black Women United in all Shades of Blackness. Register here!

Part 4 of our Breaking Down MHS with Advocates training series is coming up on Tuesday, 08/27/24 at 5PM ET/4PM CT/3PM CT/2PM PT/11AM HT! MHS can seem complicated and hard to talk about. It's also important for anyone who cares about human rights, bodily autonomy, and health data privacy. Join us for this four-part series that will help advocates break down MHS in everyday terms and fight for meaningful change on the state and local levels. Register here!

• PWN-USA Policy Fellowship Practicums for 2023-2024 Cohort
• #HIVResists June Monthly Policy Update (07/01/24)
• Health Not Prisons Spring 2024 Dispatch (06/28/24)
• "EMTALA: Supreme Court Dismissal Leaves Pregnant Patients and Providers in Untenable Limbo" by Jocelyn Frye, President of the National Partnership for Women & Families (06/27/24)
• "Heart of the Matter" by Jay Lassiter on Poz.com (06/24/24)
  • Featuring Alicia Diggs, PWN-North Carolina State Lead
• "People with HIV are aging, and the challenges are piling up" by Sam Whitehead on NPR.org (06/15/24)
  • Featuring PWN accomplice & collaborator Malcolm Reid 

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!

If you are interested in sharing newsletter content, please contact us at [email protected]. Please note that content about PWN members is prioritized, and there is no guarantee your content will be featured.