Happy holidays from SIG.
Dear SIG community,
I wanted to take a moment to wish you warm wishes for the holiday and upcoming year. Here at SIG, we look forward to continuing our work with the most forgotten and underserved populations while combating stigma for those who are racial, sexual, or gender minorities, justice-involved, or have lived experience with substance use.
For nearly 30 years, SIG has been involved in research to address the AIDS epidemic and co-occurring issues such as intimate partner and gender-based violence. I am proud that we continue this evidence-based work both in the United States and globally at our Global Health Research Center of Central Asia through projects like UNI, Be Online, and BRIDGE, and locally with projects e-WORTH, WINGS, and our training programs T32 and HISTP, for which we welcomed four Fellows and seven remarkable Scholars this year.
Our additional global work to address the Syrian refugee crisis through Project ASPIRE continues, and our project to expand the field of social work in Uzbekistan, USWEEP, wrapped up after several successful training sessions to empower future social workers. Now, as we undertake our largest project to-date, the landmark HEALing Communities Study, aimed to reduce overdose deaths by 40% in just over three years, we reflect on the incredible teamwork that made it all possible.
We could not do any of this work without our amazing team of employees, students, current and past fellows, and colleagues. Thank you for your ongoing support, well-wishes, and collaboration. We truly are part of a remarkable community.
Warmly,
Dr. Nabila El-Bassel, Director, Social Intervention Group
Principal Investigator, HEALing Communities Study
