NYC AIDS Housing Network (NYCAHN)

Fighting for the rights of people in prison, living on the streets, or in schools. Organizing against gentrification, poverty, and government neglect. Challenging racism, homophobia, and discrimination of all sorts. Confronting the forces of corporatization, globalization, and greed. AIDS activists are at the center of each of these battles, because we have long recognized that the AIDS epidemic is fueled by each of these forms of oppression. Good activists link local, national, and global struggles. They bring a broad range of voices to confront those with power. They work to amplify silenced voices within their own groups and throughout the world. And they win. We’ve won local victories like on-demand housing for everyone living with AIDS in NYC, and global victories like forcing drug companies and governments to accept generic drug competition. We are led by people living with HIV and have always brought the voices of those infected directly to those in power, amplified but not drowned out by the voices of allies. Come help us connect the dots between AIDS and oppressions faced by people on a daily basis, and learn what the successes and challenges of the AIDS movement can teach us all.

High rates of preventable illness among drug users is one consequence of the war on drugs. Despite the availability of syringe exchange programs, a highly effective intervention to prevent the spread of HIV and hepatitis C, police continue to harass and arrest participants for lawfully possessing new and used syringes. This type of law enforcement activity discourages participation in these public health programs, which leads to unsafe injecting practices and syringe disposal, along with preventable disease transmission. A participatory action research proposal in New York City serves as model for challenging this aspect of the war on drugs. The report documented the negative impact of policing on drug user health from the perspective of drug users themselves, and pressed for legislation to clarify the legal status of syringe possession and require better training for law enforcement.

Fighting for the rights of people in prison, living on the streets, or in schools. Organizing against gentrification, poverty, and government neglect. Challenging racism, homophobia, and discrimination of all sorts. Confronting the forces of corporatization, globalization, and greed. AIDS activists are at the center of each of these battles, because we have long recognized that the AIDS epidemic is fueled by each of these forms of oppression. Good activists link local, national, and global struggles. They bring a broad range of voices to confront those with power. They work to amplify silenced voices within their own groups and throughout the world. And they win. We’ve won local victories like on-demand housing for everyone living with AIDS in NYC, and global victories like forcing drug companies and governments to accept generic drug competition. We are led by people living with HIV and have always brought the voices of those infected directly to those in power, amplified but not drowned out by the voices of allies. Come help us connect the dots between AIDS and oppressions faced by people on a daily basis, and learn what the successes and challenges of the AIDS movement can teach us all.

High rates of preventable illness among drug users is one consequence of the war on drugs. Despite the availability of syringe exchange programs, a highly effective intervention to prevent the spread of HIV and hepatitis C, police continue to harass and arrest participants for lawfully possessing new and used syringes. This type of law enforcement activity discourages participation in these public health programs, which leads to unsafe injecting practices and syringe disposal, along with preventable disease transmission. A participatory action research proposal in New York City serves as model for challenging this aspect of the war on drugs. The report documented the negative impact of policing on drug user health from the perspective of drug users themselves, and pressed for legislation to clarify the legal status of syringe possession and require better training for law enforcement.