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On the Move With WESPEAK


YWCHAC member Tanieva Gibson struck a pose at the “Power of My Parts” film festival on March 17. Learn more about our partnership with YWCHAC. 		Have you ever noticed that the best advocates are not only passionate about their cause, but also having fun along the way? Catching up with the Women’s Initiative to Stop HIV-NY and the Young Women of Color HIV/AIDS Coalition, we see this firsthand.

WISH Founder/LAC State Policy Director Tracie Gardner kicked off the new year in her expert moderator hat for “Schooling Sex: A community discussion on sex education in the NYC school system,” at GMHC in January.

Then March was a flurry of activity celebrating National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, with Tracie teaming up with LAC Board Member Robert Fullilove of Columbia University to present “Legal Health Rights & HIV/AIDS in Prison” at the “Removing the Bars: TAKE ACTION 2012” conference.

It was the third edition of the annual event, featuring panel experts from Planned Parenthood, New York City health officials, Housing Works, and the Arthur Ashe Urban Institute, just to name a few. YWCHAC did its part and then some with a sold-out “Power of My Parts: Annual Film Festival For Youth by Youth” on March 17 on Manhattan.

Next up for YWCHAC, the Summer Advocacy Institute—coordinated by Tracie, advocate extraordinaire, as usual—to get the fledgling youths ready for the City Council and beyond.

Past updates:


YWCHAC’s 2012 “Power of My Parts” Film Festival at a glance.



Our Partnership With WESPEAK/YWCHAC

With an ever-evolving set of projects to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS among women of color, WISH-NY has countless connections to The Young Women of Color HIV/AIDS Coalition and WESPEAK. From advocacy training to developing reports, we have created a productive working partnership to help young advocates create a campaign to engage their peers and to work with the 25 members of the alumni groups from 2008 and 2009.

Advocacy Training

In weekly sessions at the Legal Action Center, the young women have a chance to organize and act on the realities of today’s HIV epidemic among women and girls. For example, this summer, a planning session yielded a focus on the NYC Public School system—specifically, the lack of consistency and competency in HIV/AIDS education.

Project Planning

WISH NY and WESPEAK/YWCHAC are planning to develop a mapping project examining which high schools and middle schools are in the NYC neighborhoods with the highest prevalence of HIV, STDS, teen pregnancy and prison admissions. With this critical data, we can work to ensure that the New York City HIV curriculum can be better targeted at those schools.

  • This work will include the development of the 5 borough maps through Justice Mapping Inc., which will also provide WESPEAK with research and analysis skills, and exposure to geo-mapping as a tool for community organizing.
  • WESPEAK will also develop and administer a community survey to gather information from peers, community members, and other stakeholders in the “Hot Spot” neighborhoods. The data from the surveys, combined with the mapping analysis, will be developed into a report and presentation. With this, WESPEAK—supported by WISH-NY advocacy policy staff—will educate policymakers and community members.

In this work and beyond, WESPEAK, the Coalition and WISH-NY cross-pollinate and sustain each other. The members of the Coalition and WISH-NY serve as databases and coaches for WESPEAK; the young women of WESPEAK, by their work and visibility, serve as a model of leadership, organizing and action for the young people involved in community organizing.

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