Advocacy

Advocacy and Public Policy

Through direct advocacy, coalition building and grassroots organizing, Positive Living seeks to affect public policy by advocating at the state and national level for access to treatment and quality healthcare for people living with HIV.

Political Change Through Community Action

Positive Living brings a unique, constituent-based perspective to our policy agenda. In addition to our direct advocacy and coalition work, we seek to provide the tools, information, and inspiration needed for individuals and organizations:

  1. to communicate with their elected representatives and administrative officials about HIV/AIDS legislative and funding issues, and
  2. to organize others in their community to do the same.

We believe that those most affected by the epidemic-and particularly those living with HIV-must be included in the policy development and advocacy process to ensure public policies that will effectively fight the epidemic.

A major component of our community organizing program is the North Carolina AIDS Action Network (NCAAN), a statewide grassroots network of nearly 400 individuals representing people living with HIV/AIDS, non-profit organizations, corporations, faith communities, and government agencies from around the state that respond to action alerts and communicate with their own elected officials on key policy issues.

Positive Living is committed to political action on issues regarding HIV and AIDS at the local, state and national levels. Through NCAAN, we have advocated for issues such as increased funding and eligibility levels for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, Increased prevention funding and Clean Needle Exchange programs.

In addition, Positive Living has provided training and technical assistance in developing advocacy skills, creating a legislative strategy, and building an advocacy coalition. Positive Living staff and volunteers have presented nationally on advocacy related issues and participated in many regional and national forums that advance the inclusion of people living with HIV/AIDS at every level of planning and delivery of HIV related services. We also assist in the organization of national and state lobby days.

For more information about our advocacy training, or for assistance with grassroots activities, email the public policy department ncaan@ncpositiveliving.org.

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Advocacy Resources (from www.projectinform.org)

For more information, contact the National HIV/AIDS Treatment Hotline, 800-822-7422, or visit the Project Inform website, www.projectinform.org.” For permission to edit any Project Inform material for publication, contact web@projectinform.org.)

For more information on Positive Living’s Public Policy work and NCAAN, contact ncaan@ncpositiveliving.org.