WUNRN
WORLD - WOMEN ORGANIZING TO RESPOND
TO LIFE-THREATENING DISEASES
USA - HIV/AIDS
Focus - Includes: Positive Women’s Network (PWN): WORLD’s
newest project is a response to the lack of a unifying voice representing women
living with HIV in the U.S. This new membership body is driven and led by HIV
positive women. The goal of the PWN is to strengthen the strategic impact that
women living with HIV have on policy matters that impact their daily lives.
WORLD was founded in 1991 when our founder
Rebecca Denison unexpectedly tested HIV positive. Rebecca was unable to find
services and resources specific to women. She and a small group of positive
women started a newsletter that went to 200 readers in her living room. The
newsletter featured inspiring cover stories of women living with HIV as well as
medical treatment information. Today that same newsletter reaches 12,000
readers in 87 nations.
We offer a variety of services, a few which
are specific to women in the Bay Area and others that are inclusive of women
throughout the state.
o A quarterly newsletter
that includes a cover story of an inspiring woman living with HIV, treatment
information and advocacy tips. The newsletter goes to 12,000 readers throughout
the U.S. and in 87 nations.
o WORLD’s HIV
University program, a 12-week intensive training on advocacy,
treatment options, and physical and emotional self-care, has graduated nearly
300 inspired and enthusiastic women, committed to advocating for their own
medical needs and sharing their heightened level of HIV knowledge with other
women in their lives. This program has been replicated nationally with 80
women from 40 U.S. cities. In April of this year WORLD will pilot HIV
University with women in South Africa.
o Semi-annual
educational and support retreats that strengthen social
networks and reduce isolation, provide up-to-date treatment information and
tips on accessing high-quality medical care.
o A highly
trained speaker’s bureau: HIV SPEAKS (Stories of Prevention, Education,
Advocacy, Knowledge and Support) comprised of women living with HIV and
affected community members who address HIV stigma and the impact it has on care
and prevention. Venues include churches, schools, drug treatment centers and
health fairs. Over 200 HIV-positive women have participated in this project.
o A peer
advocate program staffed by women who are living with HIV, have
experienced a positive test result and the subsequent overwhelm involved in
accessing good medical care and support services. Peer advocates help navigate
positive women through the network of services, advocate for improved care and
resources when the woman herself is unable to, and provide emotional support.
There are specialized Latina and Perinatal advocates on the team.
o The Lotus
Project: a national skill building training for HIV-positive women who
are interested in become peer advocates. To date, we have trained women in San
Diego, Oakland, New York City, Atlanta, Seattle, San Antonio, Austin and
Colombia, South Carolina.
o POWERR:
an HIV prevention project that works with African American girls between the
ages of 14-19 with a focus on gender issues and sex, risk reduction and
strengthening decision-making strategies. This project was created when
HIV-positive women informed WORLD during a focus group that they wanted to do
prevention work with girls.
o Women
Warriors support group: an ongoing support group that has been meeting
weekly for the past four years. In addition to providing each other with
emotional support, the group invites an educational speaker each week and
members also participates in advocacy activities.
o Live,
Love, Learn, Lead: A Community Summit on Women & HIV. On November
30th 2007, WORLD held a Summit that included over 300 attendees.
Many of these attendees were HIV+ women from throughout the U.S., including
Alabama, Louisiana, Washington, New York, Georgia, Texas, Connecticut and
Kansas. WORLD mobilized to make this event happen because as the epidemic is
having devastating impacts on women of color, there are very few forums focused
on women. Some of our plenary and workshop sessions included topics such as: HIV
and Transgender Women, HIV-positive Women Leading the Way, How to Advocate
Effectively with Healthcare Providers, Incarceration and Positive Women, the
State of HIV Prevention and Women, and Stronger Together: Infected &
Affected. The Summit will be an annual event.
o Positive
Women’s Network (PWN): WORLD’s newest project is a response to the
lack of a unifying voice representing women living with HIV in the U.S. This
new membership body is driven and led by HIV positive women. The goal of the
PWN is to strengthen the strategic impact that women living with HIV have on
policy matters that impact their daily lives.
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