Thank you to everyone who joined us at “Social Justice and Health Equity Symposium: Care for People at the Intersections.”

The speakers were honest and inspiring about the barriers people with legal system involvement face when accessing prevention, treatment, and care. We appreciate you sharing your insight and experience with us and look forward to your continued work in the field. Please find a resource distributed at the event here.

Here are some thoughts from the day:

“It is beyond time to step up and step in to support the lives of people coming home and provide services as we work to close Rikers Island. Prison and jails are not the institutions that society should be relying on to address our public health issues, and my team is ready.” – Dr. Ashwin Vasan

Sam Rivera reminded us that at one point, providing HIV services at The Fortune Society, and anywhere, meant helping people maintain patient dignity at the end of life whereas now it means celebrating grandchildren’s birthdays, retirements, and long lifetimes of happiness.

“Talk openly with your patients about histories of trauma and incarceration. The perspectives you gain in these conversations will help inform clinical decisions and insight into ways that together you can work to best meet their needs.”
– Micaela Linder

Jason Walker made it clear that in order to truly end the epidemic that targets invisible communities, those communities must be visible in public policy and that until we have racial equality we will not have health equity.