Mediating Disputes for People Living with

HIV/AIDS & Other Chronic Illnesses

0With Stephen M. Spano0

November 15, 5:30-7:30pm PST

 Live Interactive Workshop on Zoom

People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHIVA) are disproportionately affected by socioeconomic factors and trauma.

Despite a dedicated network of services, PLWHIVA, like others with chronic illnesses, face extreme barriers to care which affect their ability to achieve positive health outcomes in situations where the services they are seeking are of critical import for daily survival.

PLWHIVA and other chronic illnesses are unable to show up with equal bargaining power in many instances. Alternative forms of dispute resolution, like mediation, can help to remove access barriers and resolve disputes with the goal of keeping them connected to our public system of care.

We will explore the practical aspects of showing up to support dispute resolution in the face of this power dynamic and discuss various issues of intersectionality and resources in the community.

From Stephen's clinic participants will:

• Attend HIV 101: Understanding the illness, treatment, trauma, and stigma.
• Gain an understanding of the theoretical vs. practical aspects of mediating disputes in this community.
• Learn about various services the community has available to them.
• Learn more about the AIDS Legal Referral Panel and its services.

Stephen M. Spano

Stephen Spano works as the HCAP Attorney at AIDS Legal Referral Panel (ALRP). His sordid past includes houselessness, a music degree from Berklee College of Music in Boston, and a career in the entertainment industry.

While achieving his JD from Golden Gate University, Stephen interned for KQED, Judge Maria-Elena James in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California, Justice Carlos Moreno in the Supreme Court of California, and ALRP.

Stephen’s connections to ALRP run deep. Having been a volunteer, law clerk, donor, fundraiser, panel attorney as well as a client, Stephen’s role as the HCAP Staff Attorney provides him the opportunity to support Consumers of HIV services as well as Service Providers using alternative dispute resolution techniques. Learn more about more ALRP here.

LOGISTICS

• Date: November 15, Tuesday
• Times: 5:30-7:30 PST
• Cost: CB Members, $25 | Public, $45
• Location: Live Interactive Workshop on Zoom