June 28, 2017

Philly Fight Presents 2017 Behind the Walls: Prison Health Care and Reentry Summit

READ TIME: 3 MIN.

On Wednesday, June 28 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia Fight will present Beyond the Walls: Prison Health Care & Reentry Summit.

Beyond the Walls will explore the impact of mass imprisonment on individuals and communities, including the health and reentry challenges facing people in prison and those coming home. Content includes HIV, behavioral health, housing, employment, mentorship, community organizing and advocacy and educational programs. The summit is part of the 23rd annual AIDS Education Month, a one-of-a-kind city-wide program held annually in June.

Keynote Speaker Alison O. Jordan has extensive experience working with incarceration and health care improvement. As Executive Director for Transitional Health Care Coordination in the Division of Health Care Access and Improvement, she oversees activities in coordinating medical discharge planning and providing services and linkages to community health care for those soon to be released from City jails, their visitors and families.

Jordan is a recipient of NYS Department of Health Public Health Works Honor Roll Award and the lead author of Transitional Care Coordination in New York City Jails: Facilitating Linkages to Care for People with HIV Returning Home from Rikers Island. She is also the Principal Investigator for one of ten sites funded by the HRSA/Special Projects of National Significance grant. Jordan received her MSW degree from the City University of New York's Hunter College School of Social Work.

Featured Exhibits include:

  • The Art as Resistance Gallery, an art exhibit featuring pieces from incarcerated individuals and community members working against mass incarceration

  • "Ban the Box Information Table" answers questions about the impact of a criminal record on employment opportunities, employment rights, and discrimination by an employer

  • A "Clean Up Your Record" table where individuals can get questions about expungements and pardons answered

  • Collecting Books for Books through Bars, a non-profit organization that distributes free books and education materials to prisoners in seven states.

  • An innovative track, Voices from the Inside, which includes workshops designed by or in partnership with currently incarcerated individuals, in which the voices of people in prison are heavily featured through audio, video or live call-ins.

    The schedule includes:

  • Beyond the Walls: Prison Healthcare & Reentry Summit, June 28, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Pennsylvania Convention Center, 13th and Arch Streets

  • Divas Live: The 2nd Annual Philadelphia Kiki Youth People's Choice Awards, June 29, 6-9 p.m., location TBD

    Educational presentations in various communities throughout the city, special events for target populations, and major outreach to encourage all Philadelphians to get tested for HIV also take place during AIDS Education Month. Over 10,000 individuals are directly reached by Philadelphia FIGHT's efforts every June.

    Philadelphia FIGHT is a comprehensive health services organization providing primary care, consumer education, research, and advocacy for people living with HIV/AIDS and those at high risk. FIGHT's goal is to end the AIDS epidemic within the lifetime of those currently living with HIV.

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