Race Forward: Accelerating Health Justice Using Place-Based, Co-Created Initiatives

With an estimated one in three Black gay or bisexual men living with HIV, there is an urgency to exchange innovative, grassroots ideas to reduce the impact of HIV in the Black gay community. In response to this, ViiV Healthcare launched ACCELERATE!, a place-based initiative that connects the community and advances the HIV response for Black gay men in Baltimore and Jackson. The ACCELERATE! initiative was developed and implemented through a co-creation model whereby ViiV Healthcare placed men affected by HIV at the center of its design and implementation, originating from an ethnographic study of men’s self-care practices, and amplified through an immersive experience—As Much as I Can. ACCELERATE! is bolstered by the voice of the community that identified gaps, needs, and solutions.

The objective of this session is to create a bidirectional learning space that is participant-centered with opportunities to share insights, ideas and solutions about how to accelerate change in complex, dynamic cities using co-creation as a guiding principle. Men involved in the initiative from Baltimore and Jackson will co-facilitate and share their perspectives and lessons learned. Insights from this session can spur action in the community, media, and systems that shape men’s experiences with health care.

Attendees will learn:

1) A model of co-creation with Black gay men at the center
2) How a co-creation model can strengthen place-based approaches to health justice
3) Approaches to build leaders using cross-sector and cross-community collaboration
4) How to work collaboratively with geographic outsiders

Presenters

• Darnell Ferrell, ACCELERATE! Jackson Coordinator
• Blair Franklin, Executive Director, Youth Empowerment Society
• Alecia Reed-Owens, Attorney, Reed-Owens Law Office
• Tiffany Smith, Senior Consultant, TCC Group

Host

Race Forward