Policy & Advocacy
HIV/AIDS advocacy spaces often leave out of Latinx communities, particularly those most impacted by health care disparities undocumented immigrants and refugees, LGBTQ communities, and those whose preferred or primary language is not English. Our policy and advocacy are working to change that. We envision a South where communities can show up fully, authentically, and can be wholly engaged in the decisions and conditions impacting their lives.
Policy & Advocacy Goals
- Promoting Access to Quality Care to address HIV/AIDS, STIs, COVID-19, and HCV:
- ~Medicaid Expansion in the South
- ~Protecting the Affordable Care Act
- PrEP & PEP Access
- LGBTQ well-being and preservation of bodily autonomy
- ~LGBTQ healthcare restrictions
- ~Trans exclusionary policies (sports, restroom/public facilities, classrooms)
- ~HIV de/criminalization
- ~Reproductive Justice
Advocacy Opportunities:
Fuerza y Orgullo
Thanks to the ACTION grant from the University of Houston we're excited to announce the launch of Fuerza y Orgullo; our Latinx LGBTQ Southern Media and Advocacy cohort!
Our cohort 2022 will equip community members interested in joining the advocacy arena with skills and resources to shape and share their own personal stories, influence and combat harmful media narratives, and become engaged in local and statewide advocacy efforts to improve the lives and wellbeing of LGBTQ Latinx communities.
Spanish-Language Media Training Institutes
Tackling the availability and accessibility of health care policy information in Spanish is imperative to ensure that communities understand the resources available, can advocate for their own health care, and receive scientifically sound, accurate information in real-time. Our training institute for Spanish-Language media encourages coverage of health care policy, addresses language used, invites media to stakeholder tables, and provides an opportunity for co-learning and networking. In 2022-2023 we have two institutes:
- Medicaid Expansion in North Carolina
- Destigmatizing Language & LGBTQ Communities
Funding for the Media Institutes is made possible by the Kate B. Reynolds Foundation & Emory University