Community News
Keeping A Watchful Eye: Celebrating 10 years of HIV/AIDS Advocacy
The largest workshop at this year’s NYS Black, Puerto Rican and Asian Legislative Caucus was a discussion about ending epidemics in communities of color. It was held in the well of the Legislative Office Building, an open area that was filled on both sides to hear the information being presented. The panelists were a “who’s who” in downstate politics – Cumbo, Mosley, Gonzalez. And while each of the panelists are an amazing representation of what our city has to offer, the warmest smile in the room belonged to the founder of the organization co-sponsoring the event, Divinah Bailey of Watchful Eye.
Watchful Eye opened its doors for the first time on April 4, 2009. For the past 10 years, Dee Bailey has parlayed her relationships and resources to build and maintain partnerships that have worked to help preach the message of HIV/AIDS prevention and education. Partnered with Black Veterans for Social Justice, the organization has spearheaded innovative campaigns such as their Red Ribbon Revitalization Campaign which places 8-foot banners on street poles in front of medical centers, churches and educational institutions in areas hit hard by HIV/AIDS. The key to spreading the word, according to Ms. Bailey, is by aligning the cause with other community institutions. “Through Watchful Eye and through our affiliations we have been able to cultivate meaningful relationships with policymakers, elected officials and clergy across the nation. Everywhere we go, people are putting HIV/AIDS at the forefront of their community agenda. From doing this work, we’ve developed relationships with a variety of organizations because our society realizes now that everybody is affected by HIV/AIDS.”
Through her various affiliations, Dee Bailey has been able to deliver her message citywide. She’s even taken it to the circus. Every year, Ms. Bailey serves for a stint as the Guest Ringmaster for the UniverSoul Circus, a move that is strategic to embedding the ideal of prevention into the community. “We are able to take an HIV/AIDS preventive message to start off a circus that has a crowd of both young and old. We are able to incorporate and bring communities and bring out the veterans and bring out the judges there, all under the umbrella of HIV/AIDS prevention.”
If Dee Bailey’s life was set to music, it would be the ballad of a lifelong community servant. Ten years after this daughter of the Bedford-Stuyvesant community opened the doors to Watchful Eye, she is still finding new and innovative ways to get the message of HIV/AIDS prevention into the public conversation. As long as HIV/AIDS is a community issue, Watchful Eye and Dee Bailey will be there to meet it head-on.