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🤩 USCHA 2024 Recap! 🤩

PWN-USA showed up and showed at this U.S. Conference on HIV/AIDS (USCHA) 2024! We had over 40 members, staff, and board members attend the conference, representing our PWN family at institutes, hosting workshops, and participating in the largest conference for people living with HIV.

[Institute] Unveiling HIV: Challenging Assumptions on Criminalization
Featuring: Kelly Flannery & CiCi Coleman

[Workshop] Women’s Voices, a Crucial Part of HIV Decriminalization Advocacy
Featuring: LaShanda Salinas, Leah Freeman, & Elena Ferguson

[Workshop] Black Women First: Emerging Leaders Training by and for Black Women Living with HIV
Featuring: Ieshia Scott & Marnina Miller

[Workshop] We Aren’t Ending Any Epidemic without Meaningfully Including Trans Folks
Featuring: Octavia Lewis, Keiva Lei Cadena, Alex Aphroditus, & Barb Cardell

[Workshop] Combating Stigma in Faith Based Organizations
Featuring: Myra Franks, Waheedah Shabazz-El, & Martha Cameron

[Workshop] Liberation Way: Creating Inclusive Spaces for Black Women in HIV
Featuring: Sharon DeCuir, Meta Smith Davis, Millicent Foster, & Alleen King Carter

[Workshop] What You’re Not Gonna Do Is EXCLUDE US!
Featuring: Katryna Gholston & PWN-AL Member

👑 September Shero of the Month: Valerie Pinkston of MS! 👑

Congratulations to our September 2024 Shero of the Month, Valerie Pinkston (she/her) of Mississippi!

Valerie is the new Health Not Prisons advocate for the state of Mississippi and recently joined PWN-USA this year. Even in the short amount of time she’s been with us, Valerie has developed into a blooming advocate and strong community activist for housing for people living with HIV.

At this year’s AIDSWatch, Valerie lobbied to her legislators to hold HOPWA admins accountable for providing housing support payments on time to recipients. She recently presented on her advocacy work at the U.S. Conference on HIV/AIDS and Positive Living conference 2024. You can read more about Valerie here!

This interview was hosted by our previous Shero of the Month MJ Maestas (she/her) of CO. Listen to the full conversation by clicking below! We are so proud to honor Valerie as our September Shero! 💐

❤️ What Are We Celebrating This Month? ❤️

💜 Wanda Brendle-Moss celebrated her 22nd HIVersary in July and her 70th Birthday on August 9th!

✨ Shout out to PWN Co-Executive Director Keiva Lei Cadena (she/her) for representing us at the Ryan White Conference!

🤗 Congrats to our PWN-USA staff Sallie Thomas (she/her), Elena Ferguson (she/her), Maya Arigala (she/her), & Antoinette Jones (she/her) for presenting at this year’s Lets’ Talk About Sex conference in Washington D.C.!

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! 🤠

Coming Soon!

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, connect, and find peace! ✨ Join us Thursday, 10/03/24 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! 💗

PWN-USA National Membership Call

Our next PWN members call is Friday, 10/11/24 at 4PM ET/3PM CT/2PM MT/1PM PT/10AM HT. Note: you must register as a PWN member before getting the Zoom link. Register here!

PWN In the News!

• “How one policy can unlock power for a new generation of Coloradans” by Mary Jane (MJ) Maestas for Colorado Newsline (09/13/24)
• “Advocacy groups urge Schumer to hold vote on repealing Comstock abortion law” by Zach Schonfeld for Yahoo! News (09/10/24)

What We’re Reading & Watching!

• PWN-USA’s Molecular HIV Surveillance Webinar Series on YouTube
• “The Potential Impact of Voter Identification Laws on Transgender Voters in the 2024 General Election” -The Williams Institute (09/2024)
• “Philly is developing a fast-track court for people arrested for drug use in Kensington. Advocates are worried.” -The Philadelphia Inquirer (09/13/24)
• “What Can the Black Freedom Struggle and Palestinian Liberation Teach Each Other?” -Truthout (09/08/24)
• “What Should the Next National HIV/AIDS Strategy Include?” -TheBody (09/05/24)
• “It could again take Pa. days to count mail ballots in November, despite lawmakers having since 2020 to address the issue” -The Philadelphia Inquirer (09/03/24)

DJ Big Sal’s Song of the Month!

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!