**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

Contact: [email protected]

The program, a continuation and expansion of the popular #PWNCares series, will provide opportunities for service and care providers to connect women diagnosed with HIV with a supportive network.

December 16, 2019: Positive Women’s Network – USA (PWN), the nation’s premier network of women and people of trans experience living with HIV, announces the launch of a project dedicated specifically to provide social support and community to women living with HIV. #PWNCares Sister Circle, which will launch in January 2020, will provide tools, resources, and tips for service and care providers and support groups working with women living with HIV to address some of the life challenges they face — while offering opportunities for them to connect with a vibrant national community of women thriving with HIV.

“The #PWNCares series is a wonderful resource for starting meaningful conversations with women living with HIV,” said Tiommi Luckett, PWN communications and training assistant, who was also interviewed in three of the videos. “Between 2017 and 2019, we produced and released eight videos featuring cis and trans women living with HIV sharing their experiences with a variety of topics, from disclosure to intimate partner violence to dating. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to focus on connecting more providers with these resources and helping connect the women they work with to our community over the next two years.”

#PWNCares Sister Circle, made possible by a generous Positive Action for Women grant from ViiV Healthcare, will provide online tutorials and ongoing support to care and service providers, support group facilitators, and others who work with or serve women living with HIV to use the #PWNCares multimedia resources to reduce isolation and increase social support, especially for recently diagnosed women. Sister Circle will also lead national themed events to address issues facing women with HIV for Valentine’s Day (February 14), National HIV Testing Day (June 27), and PWN’s Day of Action to End Violence Against Women Living with HIV (October 23).

“Women living with HIV introduced to PWN through the #PWNCares Sister Circle will be connected to other women living with HIV in their states and across the country, with opportunities to join in virtual and in-person activities, get training on a variety of skills and information, at the speed of trust,” explained Evany Turk, PWN national field organizer. “We are so excited to devote real time and resources at making sure none of our sisters is left behind, even when the world around us is moving fast.”

Advocates, providers, and people living with HIV interested in learning more about the PWNCares Sister Circle project are invited to attend a one-hour orientation webinar Tuesday, January 14, at 2pm EST/1pm CST/12pm MST/11am PST. This webinar will familiarize participants with the multimedia series and the resources available, as well as best practices and pro tips for using the resources in support groups, meetings, and events. Anyone who is interested but unable to attend at that time is invited to register anyway, and they will receive the recording of the webinar as well as updates and follow-up resources on the project.

“I’m thrilled about the PWNCares Sister Circle project,” said Alicia Diggs, who was interviewed in two videos in the PWNCares series. “The series has already fostered incredibly productive, much needed conversations. The Sister Circle project will build on that to make sure that the most vulnerable women are connected with a powerful sisterhood of women and trans folks living with HIV.”

Check out the full PWNCares series here.