Posted on January 28, 2015
Source: Melody Wang
Hi, everyone! I am a graduate student in the Global Disease Epidemiology and Control program at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. My prior experiences as a sexual health educator in Vancouver, Canada and with the LGBTQ community in Taipei, Taiwan have shown me how integral it is to learn from local organizations in order to even glimpse the social and health issues affecting a community. As a newcomer to Baltimore, I am excited to join Generation Tomorrow to learn more about the city and to help raise awareness about HIV and hepatitis C.
I am currently working at the Vaccine is Prevention (VIP) study. VIP is based in East Baltimore and provides testing, counseling, and linkage to care to the injection drug use community through both the clinic and mobile outreach. Working with my site team members has allowed me to not only gain familiarity with the streets of East and West Baltimore but also to learn about the history that has shaped its unique character and, unfortunately, some of its pressing public health issues. During my time in Baltimore, I hope to establish partnerships with substance abuse centers to implement new testing sites and to continue using the principles of harm reduction to prevent and treat HIV and hepatitis C. I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity to learn from local and global leaders in HIV and hepatitis C and plan to use my experiences here to advocate for health equity in and beyond Baltimore.
