May 25, 2007
BIG WIGS IN THE BIG EASY
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Robinson at the women's affinity session.
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Last week, some 1,400 people from all over the country gathered in New Orleans for the 2007 HIV Prevention Leadership Summit (HPLS) sponsored by the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC). This year's HPLS, which ran from May 20 to May 23, had a special feel to it because of its location, and, thanks to a little push from NMAC executive director Paul Kawata, because "grassroots organizing" was on the tip of many people's tongues.
HPLS is an opportunity for people with HIV/AIDS, advocates, politicians, health officials, and community members to exchange the latest information about preventing HIV. NAPWA executive director Frank Oldham and POZ editor-in-chief Regan Hoffman opened the first plenary, and Kawata gave a passionate speech in which he recalled friends of his who were early caregivers in the epidemic in New Orleans who died of AIDS. Also on hand were CDC officials Kevin Fenton and Rob Jensen, as well as the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) Deborah Parham.
NAPWA's director of community affairs, Steve Bailous, applauded the dedication of prevention activists who continue to toil away despite inadequate government funding. "It was wonderful to see all the people at this conference who are doing such important work under such difficult circumstances—we've had shrinking resources for many years now," he says. Bailous was happy to hear Parham announce that HRSA was providing $45 million more in HIV prevention funds in '07.
People power
This year, to educate participants about the impact of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans, the HPLS Host Committee scheduled special bus tours to devastated communities around the city and offered volunteer opportunities to HPLS participants interested in assisting with rebuilding efforts.
The power of individuals also got a special plug when Kawata singled out the national grassroots network the Campaign to End AIDS (C2EA) as a worthwhile organization in his remarks. The HPLS isn't necessarily known for galvanizing community activists so the shout-out was welcome. "We're glad we were there to facilitate interest in grassroots organizing—overall there was a positive energy and mood that I haven't seen before," says Larry Bryant, HIV-positive C2EA national field organizer.
After Kawata's speech, there was a conference-wide buzz about C2EA that generated dozens of exciting discussions about where the national network of AIDS activists, run by people living with HIV/AIDS, was headed. Bryant says there was strong interest from attendees in starting (or reinvigorating) chapters in California, Michigan, and Kentucky. "People were amazing," says Bryant. "We spoke to a woman in Detroit who is operating a small organization by herself. She didn't want to know how she could raise money—she wanted to know what she could do now to organize and stop HIV in her community."
Women's advocacy group formed
One highlight of HPLS was a unique session where local organizing met global policy: AIDS Action in Mississippi's Valencia Robinson combined her affinity session "A Tear and a Smile," about women and grassroots organizing, with Action AIDS in D.C.'s Jacqui Patterson's session on global violence against women. HIV-positive women, social workers, and women from community volunteer organizations all attended, and by the end of the session, the group had decided to form a C2EA women's advocacy group to address the domestic and global needs of women with HIV. "We have our women's groups that are all separate. If we're all working on the same thing, we all have common interest, why not collaborate?," Robinson says.
For more information on getting involved in C2EA's women's advocacy network, contact Valencia Robinson at 601-944-1403.