P.O. Box 1233 * Milford, PA 18337 * seroproject.com * 646-642-4915
TURN IT UP! STAYING STRONG INSIDE
MAGAZINE AND RESOURCE GUIDE IS PUBLISHED
For information or a sample copy contact [email protected]
Digital version can be found at:
http://blogs.poz.com/staff/2015/09/turn_it_up_a_valuabl.html
September 14, 2015: The Sero Project announced today the publication of Turn It
Up! Staying Strong Inside, a single-issue magazine and resource guide for people
who are incarcerated and living with HIV, hepatitis or other chronic health
conditions.
Turn It Up! is much more than a magazine. It's a labor of love from a committed
group of advocates—some of whom have themselves been incarcerated—who
understand how tough it can be for those serving time. It's also an empowerment
tool to help incarcerated people improve and protect their health and welfare.
People living with HIV and other health conditions face stigma and discrimination,
and those incarcerated typically have few resources and little help. Turn It Up!
features personal stories and advice from those who are or have been on the inside.
The magazine includes the basics on HIV, hepatitis and diabetes, as well as
information on nutrition, exercise, meditation a 12-page resource guide. The cover
of Turn It Up! depicts Kerry Thomas, who is presently serving a 30 year sentence in
Idaho for an HIV criminalization conviction. Thomas also serves on the board of the
Sero Project.
Co-editor in Chief Laura Whitehorn (formerly incarcerated and formerly a senior
editor at POZ magazine) says, “Our guiding principle for everything we included in
Turn It Up! was: what did we or our friends need when we were behind bars? What
would have helped us?”
"Turn It Up! includes many well-written, detailed articles by people in prison about
how they take care of their health, partly because of Sero's collaboration with Prison
Health News,” says Suzy Subways, co-Editor in Chief of Turn It Up!, an editor for
Prison Health News and a former POZ editor. “In the Fall, 2014 issue, Prison Health
News solicited articles from readers specifically for Turn It Up!".
The Turn It Up! project began more than a year ago, when representatives from
Prison Health News, Philadelphia Fight, the Osborne Association and Release Aging
People in Prison spent a day brainstorming with Sero staff and several formerly
incarcerated individuals to develop an outline for the magazine’s content.
Sero Project Manager Cindy Stine, who coordinates Sero’s network of incarcerated
people with HIV, corresponded with people in prisons across the country to solicit
input, and more than two dozen responded with ideas, articles and interviews that
appear in Turn It Up! and she coordinated distribution of the magazine. A
Kickstarter video, created by activist Matt Ebert, helped raise funds to expand
distribution.
Nearly 30,000 individual copies have been sent to people incarcerated, reaching
every state in the U.S., and another 10,000 were distributed in bulk to clinics and
post-release program sites. A digital version is hosted by POZ Magazine at:
http://blogs.poz.com/staff/2015/09/turn_it_up_a_valuabl.html
Smart + Strong, the company that publishes POZ Magazine, provided pro bono help
with production of Turn It Up! Funding for the project was provided by the H. van
Ameringen Foundation, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the Elton John AIDS
Foundation and more than 100 individual donors.
A limited number of bulk or individual copies of Turn It Up! are available by
contacting [email protected], faxing 206-202-3971 or writing to Sero
Project, P.O. box 1233, Milford, PA 18337.
The Sero Project is a network of people with HIV and allies fighting for freedom
from stigma and injustice. Founded in 2012, Sero raises awareness, conducts
research and mobilizes grassroots communities, policy leaders and advocates to
combat HIV criminalization and strengthen the voices of people living with HIV.
For more information, visit www.SeroProject.com
or email [email protected]
###