Institute of Women & Ethnic Studies

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Program Updates due to COVID-19

Iman Shervington

MATERNAL & CHILD HEALTH

My Body, My Voice, My Birth, My Support has gone virtual, like most of the maternal and child health services in New Orleans (see below). We will be conducting our focus groups and in-depth interviews through a virtual platform, and if you’re interested in participating, call (504) 407-1146 or email Meshawn Tarver. For the interviews we’re seeking: OB/GYNs; midwives; nurses (anyone who has had contact with pregnant/birthing families); breastfeeding moms; NICU moms; dads/partners who have lost a birthing mom due to childbirth complications; and, moms who have lived through childbirth complications.

The following partners who provide services to expecting and postpartum families have moved to virtual support:

Global Early Adolescent Study (GEAS), Wellness Evaluation - Community Action Network! (WE-CAN!), Believe in Youth - Louisiana (BY-LA), Creating A Future Together (CrAFT)

On Friday, March 13, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards signed a proclamation closing schools statewide through April 13 amid the growing COVID-19 outbreak. This prompted IWES to cease until further notice all in-person school- and community-based research, direct service, and programming involving adolescents. IWES staff working on the Catapult Study (or Global Early Adolescent Study, GEAS), Phase 2 of the Wellness Evaluation - Community Action Network (WE-CAN! 2) project, Believe in Youth - Louisiana (BY-LA), and Creating a Future Together (CrAFT) are in contact with school partners to find out what resources and infrastructure that support remote/distance learning are available and accessible to youth and families. From there, staff will work with schools to determine the possibility of tailoring and continuing research and programming in a virtual capacity (with the understanding that core, academic instruction is being prioritized). As IWES' adolescent health research and program teams are working diligently with our funding sponsors and institutional review board to revise strategies for translated programming and research, we are committed to prioritizing the needs of youth, their families, and school and community partners. We want to ensure that our revised approaches are responsive to those they are meant to impact.

Please contact Gabrielle Freels for resources for middle schoolers or information regarding the GEAS/Catapult study; Kala Rachal for resources for high schoolers or in reference to BY-LA or CrAFT; and Jakevia Green for resources for primary schoolers or in reference to WE-CAN! 2.

HIV TESTING & PREVENTION

The Office of Public Health STI HIV, Hepatitis C Program (SHHP) recently announced that in an effort to protect the public and ensure the safety of staff, all HIV/STI testing services statewide are suspended until further notice. The principal reason behind such drastic measures is to maintain the safety of staff and the community-at-large. This response aligns with the promotion of social distancing, which further reduces and slows the transmission of COVID-19 in our communities. IWES concurs with the state and at this time, until further notice, we have suspended our community level testing. We will continue to promote safer sex practices during these times and encourage you to continue to protect yourself. 

If you are a person living with HIV and you are not in care, please let us know by emailing Earnis Collier; there are medical and social service support systems available for you. For anyone interested in Pre Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), - the medical strategy that helps prevent HIV - please email Nikki Napoleon and we will connect you to PrEP provider services.

Preventing HIV Infection in Women through Expanded Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Prevention, Screening, and Response Services

The Preventing HIV Infection in Women through Expanded IPV Prevention, Screening, and Response Services program is operating remotely to plan retreats and activities for our community members. We are developing tools to assess ways we can support our partners and youth.

Do you work with an organization that mentors young Black males? We would love to partner with your group to offer additional supports via trainings and retreats to mentors that promote healthy social norms and reduce intimate partner violence. Please email Christi La Mark for details.

The New Orleans Family Justice Center (FJC) is our partner in IPV prevention and intervention. It is still remotely conducting intake for new clients (safety planning, legal referrals, temporary restraining orders), and forensic medical exams. The Hope Clinic is closed to walk-ins. If you have an urgent forensic need, please call the New Orleans Family Justice Center (504 592-4005) or the Hotline (504 866-9554).