Philly canvassers urge voters to consider health issues like HIV prevention, abortion access and insurance at the polls

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Activist and canvasser Colette White opened a low iron gate and rapped her knuckles on the front door of a row home in Northwest Philadelphia.

A woman slowly opened the interior screen door.

“Hi, how are you? I’m Colette. I’m from Positive Women’s Network,” White said. “Are you familiar with the safe syringe program?”

The woman at the door quickly confirmed that yes, as a nurse, she knew about Philadelphia programs, which distribute clean needles to people who use drugs and collect used ones.

The practice has been shown to reduce new cases of HIV, hepatitis C and other infections, but Mayor Cherelle Parker eliminated city funding for local programs in this year’s fiscal budget.

“So we, Positive Women’s Network, want to go back to City Hall and tell City Council to reinstate the funding,” White explained and gestured to a digital petition. “We can add your name?”

White and other canvassers with the Positive Women’s Network, Pennsylvania chapter are hitting the streets and going door-to-door in Philly’s 11th, 16th and 38th wards to get registered voters thinking about health care issues ahead of Election Day.

Their effort is not just about health issues that are at stake with the presidential election — it’s about keeping voters engaged around health issues on a local level, as well.

The left-leaning network promotes programs and policies that support HIV prevention and treatment, reproductive and sexual health care, abortion access and health insurance coverage. They’re also encouraging people to head to the polls Nov. 5.

“If we talk to our neighbors about these issues that are happening, we are able to support them in owning their own power and do some political education around the issues that matter,” said Samm Pheiffer, the network’s integrated voter engagement manager.

The overall goal, she said, is to motivate people to take action in their communities, whether by showing up at City Hall to speak on local legislation or by voting for leaders who will represent them in state and federal government.

While out talking to folks, network chapter outreach coordinator Jeanette Murdock-Ullah stresses the significance of safe syringe programs and public health insurance programs like Medicaid and Medicare.

“How would you feel if you wake up the next morning and go to the doctor and the doctor says you don’t have insurance — how would you feel about that?” Murdoch-Ullah said. “This is what I tell people. When you vote, it makes a difference.”

White stays focused on clean syringes and HIV prevention in her conversations with voters. Her connection to this issue is personal. She’s had family members die from HIV when management treatments were still just in experimental stages in the mid-1990s.

“I remember the stories that [my cousin] used to tell me when he was sick,” White said as she walked along 16th Street to the next address on her list. “Because they were just coming out with the medicine, he said, ‘I’m not taking the medicine, it makes me sick.’”

White stayed in view of her canvassing partner, Robert Tate, who knocked on doors on the opposite side of the street. Before becoming a canvasser and community volunteer, Tate was a public school teacher. He left after experiencing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the field and its teachers.

“I couldn’t do it anymore. It was terrifying sometimes,” he said. “But this, this is cool. If you like people, you can do this. If you don’t like people, you can’t do this. You’re going to get all types, all types [of people].”

Leading up to Election Day, the canvassers will answer any election questions and make sure residents know where their local polling places are and have a plan for getting there Nov. 5.