SisterLove, Inc. April Newsletter

As a valued client and friend of SisterLove, Inc., we appreciate the trust you place in us on a daily basis.

In the current situation, it's important for all of us to remain vigilant as it relates to taking cautionary measures against the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus.) It is also important that you know SisterLove is taking the matter of your health and wellness very seriously.

In order to exercise caution, SisterLove is suspending our testing and counseling program, effective March 13, 2020 through Monday, April 24, 2020. Updates or changes will also be made on our website and social media platforms going forward. While the offices will be closed, our staff will be fully operational and working remotely. For test results, appointments and referrals, please call 678-705-7194. As it relates to SisterLove's programs, events, focus groups, etc., please call 404-505-7777 for more specific guidance and information. 

To read more from SisterLove about COVID-19 click here and the read updated recommendations from the CDC click here

 SisterLove News

Resources for those affected by COVID-19

We understand that many of you are facing difficult times due to the spread of the Corona Virus, including unemployment, housing insecurity, and health care costs. We want to offer a few resources we have collected that may be helpful to you. If these are not helpful to your unique situation, please feel free to call our office and we will try to find you any assistance we can. 

Here is a list of resources in both English and Spanish for those living in the Atlanta/Metro Atlanta Area regarding Food & Meals, Healthcare & Medicine, Internet Connection, Education, Housing & Rent Support, Employment & Income Replacement, and Immigration. 

If you think you are a loved one are sick with COVID-19, the State of Georgia has launched a new hotline that can give you up to date information about the virus. Please call (844) 442-2681 for this information. You can also call your local health department.

Amicus Brief filed in Supreme Court Case Trump v. PA to defend access to ACA birth control benefit

On Tuesday, SisterLove, Inc., National Women’s Law Center, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, National Asian and Pacific Islander Women along with the support of 50 organizations, filed an amicus brief for the case Trump v. Pennsylvania (consolidated with Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania). The brief warned that religious and moral exemptions to covering essential preventive contraceptive methods and related education, counseling, and services stand to undermine the autonomy of women and people who can get pregnant to decide if, when, and how they want to experience a pregnancy. We want to make sure the Court fully understands the devastating harm the rules would have on real people around the country, especially those facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination.

To read more about this upcoming Supreme Court case and about the brief we filed, check out our post on the SisterLove blog!

If you have had an issue with getting your birth control due to the Trump Administration's moral and religious exceptions, we want to hear from you! Share your birth control experience with us so we can be better advocates.

Upcoming SisterLove Events 

Registration Open for SisterLove's HLYASS

Got Reproductive Justice? 

Join SisterLove, Inc. for our annual youth conference, HLYASS! HLYASS, or Healthy Love Youth Advocacy Summer Summit is August 17-23. Due to effects of Covid-19, the summit this year will be virtual in order to protect attendees and speakers. We ensure that the Summit will still be engaging and informative and hope you will attend!

Registration is now open! Youth ages 16-25 can register for FREE by going here https://www.hlyass.org/register-for-hlyass.  

We are still accepting PROPOSALS. Do you have a topic related to Policy and Advocacy? Healthy Relationships? Organizing for Power?  Submit here 

Questions? Email: [email protected] 

SisterLove's GAMA Team is Conducting a Medication Abortion Study!

All future interviews will be conducted either by phone or over zoom. Please call to set up a time. 

 Partner Updates

JusticeNow 2020 Registration Open

Spark Reproductive Justice NOW! presents JusticeNOW2020, a cross-movement power building and power shifting national conference. This conference will bring together activists, advocates, artists, movement leaders, organizers, community members, students, educators, policy makers, public health professionals, researchers, medical professionals and lawyers, all within a multitude of movements and sectors.

JusticeNOW2020 will center conversations and strategies on interconnected issues related to Reproductive Justice. Our goal is to provide an intentional and inimitable space for folx to unite for the advancement of Reproductive Justice!

Through interactive workshops, sessions, panels and plenaries, attendees will have the opportunity to access information and resources, while planning, strategizing and engaging on issues that cross all social justice movements. JusticeNOW2020 provides a forum for the interdisciplinary presentation of ideas, thoughts, research and inquiry related to the liberation of historically marginalized and criminalized communities.
  

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION is open! Visit justicenowcon.com to register with the lowest rates!
 
The conference is also seeking FUN and CREATIVE proposals from folx working on a full range of social justice movements, political issue areas, and health topics. We encourage you to submit proposals to present via workshop, panel, interactive discussion, performance, expressive art, roundtable, caucus, and more! Visit justicenowcon.com to see our CALL FOR PROPOSALS and submit your session for consideration!
 
Sponsorship is an effective way to reach a new and growing audience to promote your organization or business. As a conference sponsor, you make a powerful statement about your organization’s commitment to Reproductive Justice. Your sponsorship will make this event accessible for student and community activists, regardless of their financial situation. Visit justicenowcon.com to SPONSOR JusticeNOW2020!
 
Scholarship, volunteer and exhibitor opportunities are also available at JusticeNOW2020! Visit justicenowcon.com to sign up for our mailing list and receive notification as soon as these opportunities open up!

In the News

Corona Virus Stimulus Package 

Last month President Trump signed a two trillion dollar stimulus package to help those affected by COVID-19 and the shelter in place orders. The bill is quite lengthy so we have complied a list of some of the key pieces from the bill that may affect you. There are also a few links that explain more about the $1,200 individual checks. You can check out important pieces of the bill and links to learn about your individual grant here.

Georgia New Primary Date: June 9

The current Coronavirus pandemic presents tremendous challenges to local authorities as they plan for upcoming primary elections--challenges they must be prepared to meet. The safety and health of our communities are paramount. Notwithstanding, steps can and must be taken to protect voters and poll workers while also ensuring that the democratic process moves forward in an equitable manner. Sudden changes to election times, locations, and more have been proven to create barriers to, and in some instances the denial of, citizens’ right to vote. Coupled with the South’s history of voter intimidation and interference in the democratic process, we are concerned about the Georgia Secretary of State’s decision to delay the primary election until June 9 and suspend all in-person voting.

How should voters move forward?

Instead of requiring all citizens to request their absentee ballot, Georgia election officials began mailing absentee ballot request forms to the state’s 6.9 million active voters, making it easier for them to vote without having to show up in person.

Voters who fill out and return the request forms will then be mailed a ballot for the June 9  primary, which includes candidates for president, Congress, the Georgia General Assembly and county offices. 

It is incredibly important that democracy continues to be upheld in these difficult times. Your vote matters.

Sign our pledge here to be an active voter and complete your absentee ballot request and your actual ballot when it arrives! 

If there are any issues with your request that was mailed to you, you can download the request form here.

If you have any questions about this process, feel free to contact us at SisterLove! 

This is what the absentee ballot request form looks like! 

Georgia Legislative Session

The Georgia Legislative Session, known for its notoriously short calendar, has halted movement on important legislation impacting the overall health and well-being of Georgians across the state. On March 13, members of the Georgia General Assembly decided to indefinitely suspend the Georgia state legislative session. While we applaud the members for their decision to suspend all legislative activities as an effort to safeguard their health and that of the public, we are concerned about the politicization of a public health emergency to serve the interests of a select few. We want to ensure that bills that harm our community do not get passed while we are barred from being at the capitol. We have created a create tool for you to easily contact your reps regarding these bills. Check HERE, to send message to your senators and representatives. 

1. Support HB 719. This bill will update Georgia's scientifically outdated HIV criminalization laws and attempt to ensure that only those who intend to transmit HIV will be prosecuted. SisterLove has been pushing for this bill all session and we are happy it has passed the house and moved onto the Senate assignment committee. We want to protect all those who have HIV and to ensure they are criminalized for their statue. 

2. Oppose SB 463. This bill would increase confusion about polling places, and create even longer lines and waiting times to vote. We should be doing everything we can to increase voter participation, not making it harder. Action: Call your House representative and tell them to “Vote NO on HB 463.” 

3. Oppose HB 994. This bill would allow children suspected of gang activity to be tried as adults. Action: Call your House representative and tell them to “Vote NO on HB 994.” 

Census 2020

Every 10 years the U.S. government conducts a nationwide census. The census is incredibly important for you and your community, because the results of the 2020 Census will affect community funding, congressional representation, and more. If the population of our community is undercounted we may lose funding for our schools, roads, and other necessities and we may lose representatives in Congress. The census is completely anonymous and you will not be penalized due to your living situation, immigration status, etc. There is NO immigration status question on the census. Although the official day to complete the census was April 1st, you can continue to fill it out throughout the summer.

You should have received a census form in the mail. You can also fill out the census here. 

Edit this section of copy to tell your supporters how their action will help ignite change. Use stories, quotes, data, and other inspiring content to capture their attention and get them to act.

National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day

National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day (NYHAAD), annually April 10th, is a day to educate the public about the impact of HIV and AIDS on young people. The day also highlights the advocacy of young people in the U.S. around linking people to services, providing sexual health resources, and HIV education. Every month 1,000 young people are diagnosed with HIV and over 76,400 young people are currently living with HIV across the country. Youth with HIV are the least likely of any age group to be retained in care and have a suppressed viral load.

Addressing HIV in youth requires that young people have access to the information and tools they need to make healthy decisions and reduce their risk for getting HIV, and to get treatment and stay in care if they have HIV. Young people and their allies are determined to advocate for a youth-centered framework around HIV & AIDS prevention, treatment, and care. Our activism is working! From 2010 to 2017, HIV diagnoses decreased 10% among youth overall in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Although trends varied for different groups of youth, HIV diagnoses declined for groups most affected by HIV, including young black/African American gay and bisexual men. We must keep fighting and keep those youths at risk informed about HIV!

To learn more about National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day you can read more at the CDC Website and to learn and get involved, check out Advocates for Youth. 

Changes to Title X Funding

 At the end of February, the federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decided to uphold the Trump Administrations' Title X gag rule. This rule would mean that clinics that provide abortion care or even just referrals for abortion will no longer be eligible to receive tax-payer funding, regardless of whether the funding would support abortion services or other care. Planned Parenthood and other community clinics provide the majority of preventative and family planning care and now they may have to turn away low-income folks for birth control and pap smears because they don’t have the necessary funds.

 Contact your congressperson and demand they defund Title X unless these funds are restored to actual healthcare providers. To learn more about the Trump Administration's rule and the courts ruling, click here.

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