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Author: larissa@dayonebrands.com

Pride, Juneteenth, and National HIV Testing Day

This month, we celebrate Pride, Juneteenth, and National HIV Testing Day (NHTD).

At the intersection of these is recognizing the impact of the HIV epidemic on Black LGBTQIA+ communities in the United States. Black Same Gender Loving men and Black trans women continue to be disproportionately impacted by HIV due to a multitude of social and structural factors both historical and ongoing.

NHTD (June 27th) is intended to raise awareness about HIV testing especially in communities most impacted by HIV.  To increase access to HIV testing, the CDC’s “Let’s Stop HIV Together” campaign launched “Together Take Me Home” to get free HIV self-tests delivered through the mail and into the hands of people and communities who need them most.

Click on this link to order your free HIV self-tests and/or share the link with your community members.

Strengthening healthcare workforce and health equity

Health Justice’s founder and Executive Director, Dr. Oni Blackstock, spoke at Democracy Forward’s “Together for Democracy” in late February about legal efforts as well as efforts with organized medicine to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative within healthcare. Dr. Blackstock discussed the potentially devastating consequences of these efforts for healthcare workforce and health equity and called on health care institutions and professional health organizations to deepen their commitment to and investment in embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion within their institutional and organizational policies, practices, and culture.

World AIDS Day 35

Today marks the 35th anniversary of World AIDS Day (WAD). So many gains have been made since the first WAD and the start of the HIV epidemic – effective antiretroviral treatment, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and improved quality of life and longer life expectancy for people living with HIV. However, our work continues as stark HIV-related inequities persist. This WAD’s theme is “Remember and Commit”. We celebrate and commemorate the lives of all those we have lost to HIV and commit to using all the tools at our disposal to end the epidemic.

One way to stop HIV is to get tested for HIV. The CDC’s “Let’s Stop HIV Together” launched an exciting initiative, Together TakeMeHome (TTMH), to get HIV self-tests delivered through the mail and into the hands of people who need them most. Get your free HIV self-test today by clicking on this link

A Call to Invest in Expanding Life-Saving Harm Reduction Services

Every day 18 New Yorkers die from preventable overdoses. 

In observance of International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD), Health Justice’s founder and Executive Director, Dr. Oni Blackstock, was invited by VOCAL-NY to speak at a press rally urging public officials to invest in systems of care, harm reduction, and social services

IOAD is the world’s largest annual campaign to end overdose, remember without stigma those who have died from overdose, and acknowledge the grief of the family and friends left behind. 

Read Dr. Blackstock’s press rally remarks below:

A grandmother who is able to pick up her grandkids after school and take them for ice cream

A young man who is proud that he is able to hold down a job and support himself

A middle-aged woman excited to finally able to go on a cruise with her family

These are a few of my patients who – through access to comprehensive harm reduction services and medication-assisted treatment and other health and social services – are living full lives and thriving.

I am a primary care and HIV doctor.

I am also a member of New York Docs, a coalition of healthcare workers and advocates in the New York area working alongside our patients and communities to improve the health and wellbeing of New Yorkers.

I have prescribed buprenorphine, given out naloxone kits to my patients, carried a kit of my own, connected my patients to other harm reduction services, written scripts for new syringes for my patients who were using.

I understand intimately the costs to communities, to families, of losing their loved ones to something that is entirely preventable, an overdose.

As a health care provider and public health practitioner, I know that:

Harm reduction is public health

Overdose prevention is public health

It is a public health imperative that resources be invested into systems of care, systems of humane, person-centered, community-centered care.

We need resources put back into our communities, into funding comprehensive harm reduction services, into treatment for those who want it, into social services such as housing, outreach, and wrap-around services.

We need resources divested from systems of punishment and harm – such as policing and incarceration – that criminalize and stigmatize substance use.

This is one of the reasons that NY Docs has drafted a letter urging Gov Hochul to sign an executive order to authorize overdose prevention centers (OPCs) in communities across New York State that are experiencing high rates of fatal overdoses.

One person dies every 1.5 hours of an overdose in New York State and with Black, Indigenous, and Latinx NYers being disproportionately impacted.

Access to safe medically supervised settings to inject helps reduce HIV and hepatitis C transmission and other injection-related infections and most importantly reduces the risk of fatal overdose.

OPCs are gateways to other health care and social services and help to keep communities safe and healthy.

Each life taken due to an overdose is absolutely irreplaceable

It is a public health imperative, for each and everyone of us, especially our government officials, to do what we can to prevent overdoses.

By investing in systems of care and divesting from systems of harm, we will have more grandmothers who are able to pick up their grandkids after school and take them for ice cream young men who feel proud that they are able to support themselves middle aged women who feel excited to finally able to go on a cruise of a lifetime with her family

Not one more precious life taken due to a preventable overdose.

Thank you!

 

Health Justice Celebrates Our 2nd Anniversary!

Health Justice accomplished a tremendous amount in our second year:

• Grew our team, bringing in racial equity practitioners with an array of experiences and backgrounds, all committed to transformational change.

• Introduced new dynamic trainings and workshops such as Operationalizing Racial Equity and Shifting from Power Hoarding to Power Sharing.

• Formed new partnerships and worked with 700+ staff from 80 organizations including 72 health departments from across the United States.

We’re excited to embark on our 3rd year!

Contact us today to learn more about how Health Justice can support your organization in its equity journey.