DuSable Museum, The HotHouse, and Garfield Park Conservatory to be sites of conversations about War, Urban Planning, Sexuality, and Public Health.
CHICAGO – How do we think of health as a human right? How do the “War on Terror,” your neighborhood, and your sexual identity impact your health and the health of your community? The Public Square at the Illinois Humanities Council (IHC)and the Neighborhood Writing Alliance (NWA) host a series of community conversations that will address these questions and other issues of public health, access to care, and inequity in our healthcare system. From May 10 to May 20, three panels will convene at the DuSable Museum, The HotHouse, and the Garfield Park Conservatory, who are also among the co-sponsors for the series.
This series of events is free and open to the public, but reservations are REQUIRED and can be made at 312.422.5580 or info@thepublicsquare.org.
“How Do We Think of Health as a Human Right” will take place at DuSable Museum (740 E. 56th Place, at S. Cottage Grove Ave.) from 6:00 to7:30PM on May 10. Richard Sewell, Executive Director of Health Equity at the University of Illinois School (UIC) of Public Health will facilitate a discussion among panelists—including Quentin Young of the Health and Medicine Policy Research Group—and community members and health care advocates in attendance. This panel will consider how war, natural disaster, immigration legislation, and the corporatization of healthcare effect how we think of health as a human right.
“Let’s Talk About Sex and Health, Baby: A Conversation about Reproductive Health, Youth, and Sexuality” will convene at The HotHouse (31 E. Balbo, at S. State St.) on Saturday, May 13, from 1:00 to 3:00 PM. Courtney Bell, former Director of Chicago Women’s Health Center and current Executive Director/CEO of Bottomless Closet, will moderate a conversation between community members and panelists, including Kimberly Dean, Senior Educator at Chicago Women’s AIDS Project. The conversation will explore how issues of sexuality—reproductive health, adolescent sexuality, alternative sexuality, the sex trade—effect our health and our access to care.
“How Do We Build Healthy Places: A Conversation about Geography, Food, and Transportation” will be held at Garfield Park Conservatory on Saturday, May 20 from 2:00 to 4:00 PM. Janet Smith of the Voorhees Center, Daniel Block of Chicago State University, and Miguel Morales of Co-op Humboldt Park will lead a provocative discussion with the community on how urban planning affects our access to food, our stress level, and our access to quality healthcare.
Other co-sponsors include: Health & Medicine Policy Research Group, Campaign for Better Healthcare, Chicago Labor and Arts Fest, Physicians for a National Health Plan, Co-op Humboldt Park, Chicago Women’s AIDS Project, AREA Chicago,the Nathalie P. Voorhees Neighborhood Center, Fredrick Blum Neighborhood Assistance Center, Center for Neighborhood Technology, Early to Bed, and Access Living.
The Public Square at the IHC fosters debate, dialogue, and exchange of ideas about cultural, social and political issues with an emphasis on social justice. For more information, please visit www.thepublicsquare.org. Neighborhood Writing Alliance (NWA) publishes the Journal of Ordinary Thought and provokes dialogue and promotes change by creating opportunities for adults in Chicago to write, publish, and perform works about their lives. For more information about NWA, please visit www.jot.org.
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