Call for Proposals for Advocacy Conference

Call for Proposals

Statewide HIV/AIDS Advocacy Conference

Raleigh, NC

April 9th, 2013

The statewide HIV/AIDS Advocacy Conference is proposal driven, meaning that Community Partners propose the presentations. We are seeking proposals for sessions that build community knowledge and exemplify working models for effective HIV advocacy that can be replicated by others across the state.

Who can conduct a presentation? Anyone from an organization that has signed on as a Community Partner can propose a presentation. In order to conduct a presentation, your proposal must be submitted by 5pm on Thursday, January 26th, 2013.

Can we propose a workshop, a round table discussion, or a poster presentation? Yes, we will consider all formats, with a preference for sessions that include interactive components and that strive to make participants more effective advocates for responsible HIV policies. What should we include in our proposal? ●      Please give a title for your presentation(s) and a brief description (200 words or less). Be sure to state explicit the main goal of the presentation. ●      Please include your full name, affiliation, e-mail and mailing address. ●      Please include a short bio for each presenter highlighting their qualifications to present on this subject. ●      Please indicate if your presentation is a workshop, a roundtable discussion, or a poster presentation. ●      Please indicate any special needs for audiovisual equipment. How do I propose a presentation? Please submit your proposal via email to shawn@ncaan.org with the subject “Conference Proposal” no later than 5pm on Saturday, January 26th, 2013.

Action Alert: Call today to support HIV/AIDS programs

Our friends at AIDS United just sent out this action alert. Let's make sure our legislators hear from North Carolina!  As the fiscal cliff looms, it's incredibly important that our legislators hear loud and clear: Cutting lifesaving programs is not the way to balance the budget.

CONGRESSIONAL CALL-IN DAY TO SUPPORT HIV/AIDS PROGRAMS! Call TODAY! Call NOW! Tell Speaker Boehner and President Obama that cutting programs vital to people with HIV/AIDS is no way to reduce the deficit - we need a fair and balanced approach now! We encourage people to call House Speaker Boehner and President Obama today, December 18, or tomorrow, December 19, to ensure that programs vital to people with HIV/AIDS are not cut! BACKGROUND: House Speaker Boehner and President Obama are negotiating now to reduce the federal deficit.Critical services upon which millions of Americans rely, including persons living with HIV/AIDS, are at risk for cuts. The Ryan White Program, Medicaid, Medicare, housing, HIV prevention and other programs that make up the safety net for vulnerable Americans with HIV/AIDS and the NIH-supported research that holds the keys to ending the pandemic are all on the line. Negotiations on this issue will end soon, so we need to exert pressure now! ACTION NEEDED: Please call Speaker Boehner and President Obama and tell them to prevent harmful cuts and caps to health care and low-income programs, including those that impact persons with HIV/AIDS -- we need a fair and balanced approach that includes a substantial increase in revenue now! Please make calls today! To call House Speaker Boehner, dial 202-225-0600. To call President Obama, dial 202-456-1414. MESSAGE: Please call with this message : I am calling to ask Speaker Boehner/President Obama to prevent harmful cuts and caps to health care, research, and low-income programs, including those that impact persons living with HIV/AIDS, such as the Ryan White Program, Medicaid, Medicare, housing, and HIV prevention programs! We need a fair and balanced approach that includes a substantial increase in revenue now that prevents further cuts to these vital programs. Balancing the budget on the backs of vulnerable Americans, including those living with HIV, is wrong, will potentially cost lives, and will cut jobs in the health care and human needs sectors. Early and reliable access to HIV care, treatment, and support helps people with HIV live healthy and productive lives and is cost effective. Investing in HIV prevention today translates into better health outcomes and less spending in the future. In my state/district, such programs are greatly needed, because (insert local details or tell personal story). Thank you for taking the time to call House Speaker Boehner and President Obama to ensure that programs vital to people with HIV/AIDS are protected! This alert has been organized by the AIDS Budget and Appropriations Coalition (ABAC), a working group of the Federal AIDS Policy Partnership (FAPP), a coalition of over one hundred national and community-based HIV/AIDS and public health organizations that represent people living with HIV/AIDS, HIV medical provider and researchers, and advocates, as well as community organizations that provide critical HIV related health care and support services. ABAC advocates for increased resources for domestic HIV/AIDS programs across the federal government.

Encouraging one another

This morning, I got an email from Michelle Wilson, a Speaking Positively advocate in Winston-Salem, NC, about the shootings in Newtown, Conn. “This story touches me in all kinds of ways,” Michelle said, “especially talking about mental illness. For me, as mother of six who lives with an illness and suffers with illness mentally and physically, it reminds me to strive to help others and encourage others that they can overcome most obstacles."

Michelle has demonstrated her passion for helping and encouraging others by speaking up about her status and HIV/AIDS issues, whether she’s being interviewed in The News & Observer or meeting fellow advocates at the International AIDS Conference. “I want everyone to come together in unity to stop the stigma and stop the epidemic,” she says. “And we need to start with our youth because youth have a lot of struggles, and they don’t know where to reach out."

Also in my inbox this morning was a message from Alicia Diggs, a Speaking Positively advocate in Greensboro, NC, who was sending me an article in The Business 101 Magazine about her ministry, I Will Live. I Will Live connects people facing many types of adversity – physical, mental, emotional, or psychological – and provides a supportive community online and at events in the Greensboro area.

“Though you may speak to one person or a thousand people, you can make a difference,” Alicia says. “You can help the next person to see that they can overcome this.”

Michelle and Alicia’s emails, and the posts by many of you on Facebook, sending thoughts and prayers to the families in Newtown, reminded me that the first step in our work to fight stigma and change policies is reaching out to each other in adversity and understanding that our struggles are connected.

As Michelle said, “If we the people of the world come together, talk to one another, and encourage one another, we’ll have an AIDS-free state, and then an AIDS-free country, and then an AIDS-free generation will be possible.”

How does the fight for the rights of the people most affected by HIV/AIDS connect with other struggles in your life? Share your thoughts in the comments.