July 13, 2007
RIGHT ON, ROSALIE
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Introducing Rosalie Canosa |
The ribbon-cutting for Housing Works new Women’s Health Center (WHC) is only one week away and we’re proud to announce that Rosalie Canosa has been named the WHC's executive director."I see the Women's Health Center as an oasis where women can get high-quality health care without being judged," Canosa said of the $3 million facility she will oversee. "I know firsthand that medical establishments can be very daunting, judgmental places."
The ceremony celebrating the opening of the WHC will be held at noon on Friday, July 20, at 57 Willoughby Street in Brooklyn. Tours of the Center will be available from 10:30am to noon. State Senator Velmanette Montgomery will be the keynote speaker at the event. The WHC is the first facility in New York State dedicated to providing HIV-positive women with comprehensive on-site health care as well as supportive services such as substance abuse counseling, HIV/AIDS support groups, job training, meals, art therapy and numerous other programs.
Canosa, 49, admires Housing Works' emphasis on housing as a precursor to health and stability for people living with HIV/AIDS. She spent much of her childhood in substandard housing in East Harlem, and one of her early memories is watching her brother organize a tenants' protest against a slumlord. Her upbringing made her keenly aware of social and economic injustice and the need for basic human rights. "You can't expect people to function in an optimal way if basic needs are not met," she said. "Coming from extreme poverty and working up the ranks I see that." Being a lesbian (and an Italian-American raised in Spanish Harlem) also helped her understand disenfranchisement. "It's about stigma and discrimination and being on the fringe of the larger society and feeling a little ostracized," she said.
Canosa received her Masters in Social Work at New York University and Masters in Public Policy at Baruch College. She most recently served as Director of Case Management and Support Services for William F. Ryan Community Health Center, a Ryan White funded program. The child of Italian immigrants, Canosa is fluent in Spanish and her friends growing up proclaimed her an honorary Puerto Rican. "I feel more Puerto Rican than Italian-American," said Canosa, whose partner is Puerto Rican. "It's such an entrenched part of who I am."