Workshop on HIV and Stigma- Charlotte Malerich

HIV-related stigma creates barriers to effective treatment and prevention, and thwarts efforts to end the epidemic on the whole. It makes people afraid to seek treatment, to take precautions, and to share critical information with their loved ones. It marginalizes social movements and programs, like needle exchanges, which are proven to reduce the spread of HIV. According to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, stigma "helps make AIDS the silent killer, because people fear the social disgrace of speaking about it... Stigma is a chief reason why the AIDS epidemic continues to devastate societies around the world."

Building on curricula from the International Center for Research on Women, members of the MWPHA Health Disparities Committee and partners are developing a workshop to address HIV-related stigma. After the workshop, participants will understand what stigma is; its relationship to social determinants and structures of power like patriarchy, racism, homophobia, and social class; and why speaking up is critical to ending the epidemic. Additionally, participants will be challenged to take action in their own communities. The workshop will be presented at the second annual conference on HIV and stigma at Howard University on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2011, and become a permanent piece of the Committee's toolkit, offered to community organizations and groups.

A trial run of the workshop took place on May 7. With feedback from participants, a sub-committee for the workshop development will meet to conduct further research, as well as revise and add to the workshop's content. Those interested in working on this project as creators, becoming facilitators, or participating in future workshop trials should contact Joy Spencer at joyful9802@gmail.com or Charlotte Malerich at csmalerich@gmail.com.

Building Solidarity among Metro Workers and Riders - By Charlotte Malerich

The MWPHA Health Disparities Committee is partnering with members of ATU Local 689, the union representing our area's Metro workers. This is a prime opportunity to bring a public health perspective to issues of transportation, good jobs, and structural racism.

Historically, Metro has been one of the few sources of well-paying jobs with benefits to the African American community of DC. A minimum-wage worker at McDonald's or Target, for instance, might depend on health insurance through a parent or spouse working at Metro. But in 2010, binding arbitration resulted in a contract that increased workers' payments for their health insurance, eliminated retirement health benefits for new hires, and froze wages for the first year of the contract. The union leadership agreed to all the concessions in the contract, because it included retroactive 3% pay increases per year—bare minimum cost-of-living increases. Metro management, however, challenged the pay raises.

While the contract is stuck in the court system, Metro workers are stuck with the consequences of the contract and none of the benefits. Management has also stepped up surveillance and harsh discipline for minor infractions.

As an outgrowth of the Engaging Activism workshop in January, Committee members hosted a roundtable discussion with a retired Metro worker, and developed an information flyer for the riding public. Contact Charlotte Malerich at csmalerich@gmail.com or (703) 944-5548 for more.

UPDATE: MWPHA Committee on Women, Children, and Youth - By Mary Frances Kornak

UPDATE: MWPHA Committee on Women, Children, and Youth

The MWPHA committee on Women, Children, and Youth met May 24, 2011 to discuss the first topic of its professional development series: medical homes. We drafted an outline and are planning for a September presentation. Members interested in helping to plan this informative event are welcome to join us now.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Maternal and Child Health Bureau has an outcome measure that states: “Children and youth with special health care needs will receive coordinated, ongoing, comprehensive care within a medical home.”

While this is directed to the Special Needs population, the concept of a medical home is one that should be embraced for all children, for people with chronic diseases, and even the general population. Medical homes are not widely implemented in DC, according to data from the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs 2005/2006. Establishing a medical home can help address racial, ethnic, and family income inequities in access to care that national healthcare reform alone cannot erase.