In this lunch-and-learn, VR professionals will gain greater understanding of current dynamics of HIV stigma as factors in people living with HIV considering working, accessing VR services, and obtaining successful VR outcomes. Trainers and speakers will consist of a diverse group of people living with HIV.
Participants in this lunch-and-learn training will be able to:
- Identify current dynamics of HIV stigma as factors in people living with HIV considering working
- describe how HIV stigma may affect the decisions of people living with HIV to access vocational rehabilitation services
- implement strategies to avoid stigmatizing language related to living with HIV
About the speaker
Mark Misrok, MS Ed, is Executive Director and a co-founder (in 2003) of the National Working Positive Coalition (NWPC), has been living with HIV for 40 years and working to address employment needs of people living with HIV since running and developing employment services for people living with HIV in San Francisco from 1995-2007. Mark served as a writer of educational resources on HIV and employment for the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as advisor on employment for the NY Governor’s Task Force on Ending the Epidemic and as co-chair of the NYS Expanding Employment Opportunities for PLHIV Steering Committee, and is a member of the U.S. People Living with HIV Caucus Steering Committee. Born in Mississippi, and raised in Alabama, Mark leads NWPC training, technical assistance, research, and advocacy initiatives to expand and improve employment opportunities and services for people living with or at greater vulnerability to HIV at community, state, regional and federal levels, including current or recent projects in Illinois, New York, Connecticut, Louisiana, Alabama, Colorado, Maryland, Mississippi and Texas.
ABOUT THE ILLINOIS VR TRAINING LUNCH & LEARN SERIES
Hosted by the Illinois Institute for Rehabilitation and Employment Research in collaboration with the Illinois Department of Human Services Division of Rehabilitation Services, these monthly online trainings feature a variety of key topics for vocational rehabilitation counselors and professionals.