Making Healthcare Fair!

By now you've heard that the hospital visitation policy that we, Equality NC, pushed for and got passed here in North Carolina has been picked up and cited in a presidential memo directing that this policy be adopted at the federal level.

(If not, you can read more about it in the Washington Post, the New York Times, or The News & Observer.)

Last week we got a call from News Channel 14, our statewide 24-hour news channel, who wanted to interview some LGBT folks who'd had problems here in North Carolina trying to visit a sick partner in the hospital.

We know those stories exist out there, but unfortunately we didn't know any specific people who'd experienced this discrimination to refer the reporters to.

These narratives help educate others about the issues LGBT people struggle with as we face prejudice on different fronts every day.

This year is especially significant for healthcare issues, given the recent historic passage of health care reform, so it’s even more important now that we draw attention to the issues of LGBT people and people living with HIV/AIDS.

We're not the only ones looking for these tales of bigotry. Please consider helping Lambda Legal with their Share Your Story project.

"We are looking for stories from lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and people living with HIV/AIDS who have been affected by healthcare discrimination. Perhaps you’ve experienced discrimination firsthand, or witnessed a friend or family member being mistreated. Whatever your story, we want to hear it."

Check out the link for specifics and details.

Please also consider placing a link to Share Your Story on your organization’s website, Facebook page, or other social networking sites. They have created some widgets (ooo, widgets!) you can use for this.

Tale-telling and narrative are how we understand our world and help others understand our experiences, good and ill. Never underestimate the effect your story can have.