May is Mental Health Awareness Month. It is the perfect time for us to shed light on the intersection of mental health and its effects on HIV/AIDS - specifically in Black communities. Both HIV/AIDS and mental health conditions disproportionately affect Black people in the United States, which leads to compounded health disparities that demand focused attention and action.

Barriers to effective care can prevent Black people living with HIV/AIDS from accessing adequate mental health care. Fear of stigma can deter individuals from seeking help or disclosing their status, which can lead to isolation and untreated mental health issues. Socioeconomic factors can also limit access to quality healthcare services, including mental health care. Addressing the intersection of HIV/AIDS and mental health within Black communities also requires advocacy and systemic change. Policies aimed at reducing healthcare disparities, increasing funding for community-based programs, and enhancing mental health services are critical.

The Satcher Health Leadership Institute is utilizing the Georgia Thrives campaign to close the gap and remove barriers that prevent quality HIV education in our communities. We're IN this together to END this together!

Progress Update: HIV Health Equity Leadership Development Program Cohort

During this month's learning session, cohort members worked on ways to coalesce across sectors to strategically and creatively design advocacy messages for a special project. This session's speakers shared a great deal of insight towards working together in diverse, yet effective coalitions across multiple sectors and effectively communicating advocacy messages in various settings and within different audiences.

Stay tuned for more updates as the cohort members finalize designs for their specific HIV advocacy messages!

Meet Alex Santiago

Chief Operating Officer, Destination Tomorrow

Founder, I Am Human Foundation

Alex Santiago is the Chief Operating Officer of Destination Tomorrow, based in the Bronx, New York, and the Founder of the I Am Human Foundation with locations in Atlanta, Georgia, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His mission is to create a safe space for individuals who are homeless, living with HIV, and transgender youth, with a focus on those who experience discrimination due to their lifestyle or gender identity.

Alex has been involved in the LGBTQ+ community for over three decades as a board member and supporter of various non-profit organizations. Alex serves on the Metro Atlanta Ending the HIV Epidemic Advisory Board. Alex is a member of the ballroom House of Comme des Garcon, where he serves in a professional, community advocacy role. He also serves on the City of Atlanta’s Mayor's LGBTQ+ Advisory Board. Alex has received numerous awards for his work in the community, including Georgia Diversity Council 2022 Leader of the Year, Atlanta Black Pride Communitarian of the Year 2022, A Vision 4 Hope Humanitarian of the Year, and Men Engagement Network Transgender Visibility Award 2022, to name a few. He also received a Proclamation from the New York State Senate honoring Black, queer, and trans advocates. Alex was the first Black trans man to speak at Harvard University on the lack of equity in the Black and brown transgender community.

Last January, he debuted a campaign that featured billboards with the slogan “Black Trans Lives Matter'' against the backdrop of the Trans Pride flag with the hashtag “Stop the Violence” and another billboard that read “Stop Killing Black Trans Women.” This campaign influenced organizations across the country to partner with him to place billboards in other major cities to educate and raise the profile of the Black transgender and gender non-conforming (GNC) communities. Alex has been featured in several magazines highlighting his billboard campaigns and most recently developed programming for Black Trans Voter Safety and Rights, which has caught the attention of Rock the Vote.

New Health Equity Tracker Blog

Journey of an HIV Advocate: Why I Do This Work (Testimonial)

Thank you to Dr. Christopher Ervin, Director of Community-Based Health Initiatives at Morehouse School of Medicine, for sharing his testimonial on why he does this important HIV work.

Click the link below to check out his blog post.

Read the blog

Discussing the HIV Epidemic in Atlanta on the Local Take with Kiplyn Primus

JAZZ WCLK -- As always with most health challenges, the African American community is negatively impacted with significant numbers of new cases. Dr. Maisha Standifer from the Satcher Health Leadership Institute joined WCLK's Kiplyn Primus to discuss this challenge. Primus asked Standifer to tell listeners about the Satcher Health Leadership Institute, whose mission is to bring health equity to the country.

Listen to the full interview here

Dr. Maisha Standifer Addresses Health Disparities Among Black Women And Vulnerable Communities

ATLANTA DAILY WORLD -- Black women are disproportionately affected by issues such as HIV/AIDS. According to the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine, in Georgia, the rate of Black females living with an HIV diagnosis is 11.7 times that of their white counterparts. It’s alarming statistics like these that serve as the basis for the life work of Dr. Maisha Standifer, Director of Population Health for the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine.

Read the full article here