Wellness Equity Alliance

09/02/2026

Wellness Equity Alliance is excited to welcome John Kirby as Director of Street Medicine.

John brings more than three decades of experience across HIV/AIDS, substance use, behavioral health, homelessness, LGBTQ+ advocacy, medical care for underserved communities, program development, and fund development.

After serving in United States Army, John began his career in direct service as an HIV testing counselor and expanded into leadership roles across substance use treatment, HIV prevention, community-based programming, methadone services, outpatient behavioral health, and executive-level program development.

Most recently, he directed behavioral health and social service programs addressing the social determinants of health across one of the largest FQHC systems in Southern California.

At WEA, John will help advance health equity and guide our street medicine programs in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Coachella Valley, and San Diego that integrate medical care, behavioral health, substance use treatment, HIV care, and care coordination for people too often left outside traditional systems of care.

Welcome John! We’re so glad you’re here!

09/02/2026

A bat brought into a home on Martha’s Vineyard tested positive for rabies, marking the island’s first documented case since 2019.
Human rabies remains rare in the U.S., with fewer than 10 confirmed cases typically reported each year. But once symptoms develop, the disease is almost always fatal.

In a Knewz article, Wellness Equity Alliance’s CEO and Founder Tyler B. Evans, MD, MS, MPH, DTMH, FIDSA provided perspective about the broader interaction between people and wildlife.

👉 “As the human population increases, people venture into ‘areas we shouldn’t be, becoming accidental hosts to rabies. As this continues, wildlife populations have also exploded, feeding off trash, outdoor pet foods and compost left behind by humans.”

While the Martha’s Vineyard case is likely a “one-time event,” it’s important to take possible exposure seriously.

Because bat bites can be tiny and easily overlooked, seeking medical attention immediately after a possible exposure is an important part of preventing rabies from becoming a medical emergency.

https://knewz.com/rabies-infected-bats-america-marthas-vineyard-first-since-2019/

A rabies-infected bat found on Martha’s Vineyard has prompted a 45-day quarantine for two cats as experts warn about deadly rabies risks.

09/01/2026

Stimulant use disorder has surpassed opioid use disorder in prevalence for the first time, with 4.5 million Americans now affected. Yet there is still no FDA-approved medication specifically to treat it.

In Behavioral Health Business, reporter Ashleigh Hollowell examines the growing treatment challenge and the role of contingency management, an evidence-based behavioral intervention that rewards measurable changes in behavior but continues to face reimbursement and implementation barriers.

Wellness Equity Alliance’s CEO and Founder Tyler B. Evans, MD, MS, MPH, DTMH, FIDSA provided insight into what it takes to make treatment accessible including:

👉 “When it comes to contingency management, getting that covered is really, really challenging. So, zooming out, we have to incentivize funding, testing, patient coordinator time, peer support specialists, technology, transportation supports. There are a lot of pieces, and it takes a lot of creativity. You can’t just check boxes.”

https://bhbusiness.com/2026/08/31/stimulant-use-disorder-might-be-providers-next-quiet-crisis/

This is an exclusive BHB+ story.   The prevalence of stimulant use disorders has surpassed the number of individuals with opioid

08/31/2026

This year marks the 25th anniversary of International Overdose Awareness Day, the world's largest annual campaign to end overdose. The theme is, “25 Years On. Still Needed.”

The CDC reports a decrease of almost 14% from the 81,313 deaths estimated in 2024, but the scale of loss from overdose deaths remains devastating with nearly 70,000 U.S. overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2025.

• An overdose happens when a substance overwhelms the body and causes serious symptoms, including slowed or stopped breathing, loss of consciousness, or inability to respond.
• Naloxone can reverse an opioid overdose when given in time, including overdoses involving fentanyl, he**in, or prescription opioids.
• Overdose risk can be reduced by carrying naloxone, avoiding use alone when possible, avoiding mixing substances, using fentanyl test strips when available, and calling 911 right away if an overdose is suspected.

People who are unsheltered, isolated, using alone, or disconnected from traditional healthcare systems need overdose prevention support that works.

Street medicine helps by bringing naloxone education, medication support, behavioral health care, primary care, and connection to treatment to people right where they are.

08/31/2026

A central North Carolina teenager is critically ill with a disease that has long been associated with the hottest days of summer in the South: a brain infection caused by the amoeba Naegleria fowleri.

According to the CDC, “Most N. fowleri infections occur when people swim or submerge their heads in warm fresh water like lakes, ponds, or rivers.” It can also be found in the soil.

WRAL TV Climate Change Reporter Liz McLaughlin examined how warming freshwater could create favorable conditions for the heat-loving amoeba across a wider geographic area and potentially for a longer part of the year.

Wellness Equity Alliance’s CEO and Founder Tyler B. Evans, MD, MS, MPH, DTMH, FIDSA provided additional insight:

👉 “We might see not necessarily just an increased risk of cases per se, but the times in which the cases are presenting.”

For public health, the focus isn’t predicting a sudden surge. It’s recognizing that changing temperatures may shift familiar patterns of infectious disease and adapting surveillance and prevention accordingly.

For people swimming in warm freshwater, simple precautions can reduce exposure, including using nose clips to keep water out of the nose, and avoiding disturbing sediment in shallow areas.

https://www.wral.com/news/local/warming-waters-could-expand-brain-eating-amoeba-risk-aug-28-2026/

A North Carolina teenager is critically ill with the rare infection as scientists study how rising temperatures could change where and when the amoeba thrives.

08/26/2026

Climate change can affect where and how infectious diseases emerge. Whether diseases can be prevented, detected, and treated depends on effective infrastructure and low barrier access to healthcare.

On an episode of Flanigan’s Eco-Logic, host Ted Flanigan spoke with Wellness Equity Alliance’s CEO and Founder Tyler B. Evans, MD, MS, MPH, DTMH, FIDSA about health equity, infectious disease, climate change, and the systems people rely on for care.

🖥️ Watch full episode: https://ecomotion.us/.../dr-tyler-evans-on-the-need-for.../v

08/26/2026

Wellness Equity Alliance is excited to welcome Katrina L. Balovlenkov, LCSW, as Chief Behavioral Health Officer.

Katrina brings more than 20 years of experience across behavioral health, HIV, substance use, public health, social work, education, and community-based care.

Her work has focused on strengthening health systems, advancing patient-directed approaches to care, and developing services that respond to the realities of people who are unsheltered, or navigating complex barriers to care.

As Chief Behavioral Health Officer, Katrina will help guide WEA’s behavioral health strategy across programs that integrate innovative healthcare via street medicine, clinical care, public health, lived experience, and community partnership.

Her leadership will strengthen WEA’s ability to deliver accessible, responsive, and integrated community-based care for populations most impacted by health inequities.

Welcome Katrina! We’re so glad you’re here!

08/25/2026

In a powerful opinion piece for New York Nonprofit Media Sebastien Vante makes the case for investing in low-barrier, high-trust drop-in centers for young people experiencing homelessness.

Safe Horizon’s Streetwork Project Drop-In Centers are often “the first point of contact with anything resembling a support system.” Whether it’s basic needs, or some of the most critical early mental health identification.

As Sebastien writes, “Drop-in models work precisely because they dismantle the threshold. You don't have to name your pain to walk through the door. You don't have to have insurance, a referral, or a diagnosis. You just have to show up. And once you're there – once a staff member knows your name, knows your rhythm, knows when something's off – the chance for intervention becomes real.”

Sebastien also advises on Wellness Equity Alliance’s HIV Street Medicine and has served in the field of HIV Prevention and Reproductive Health as facilitator of evidence-based interventions on federal, state, and local levels, including the NYSDOH, AIDS Institute, ACS, and the CDC.

https://www.cityandstateny.com/nyn-media/2026/08/opinion-invest-low-barrier-high-trust-drop-centers/415597/

A naked client on 125th Street couldn’t remember much, but he could remember how our open door made him feel.

08/24/2026

Wellness Equity Alliance is excited to welcome Lani Hashimoto-Raju, FNP-C, MSN, PHN, RN, as an Advanced Practice Provider (NP/PA).

Lani brings strong clinical and public health experience across communicable disease control, reproductive health, tuberculosis care, immunizations, HIV/AIDS case management, emergency response, patient education, and care coordination.

Her background includes direct patient care, public health nursing leadership, staff supervision, clinical training, data-informed program work, and collaboration across healthcare and community settings.

As an Advanced Practice Provider, Lani will support WEA’s street medicine work in Los Angeles, where we bring patient-centered care directly to people experiencing homelessness in encampments, shelters, vehicles, temporary housing, and other nontraditional care settings.

Her experience strengthens WEA’s ability to deliver community-based care that meets people where they are and increases health equity by reducing barriers to timely, consistent care.

Welcome Lani! We’re so glad you’re here!

08/20/2026

Southern HIV/AIDS Awareness Day highlights the disproportionate impact of HIV in the South (more than half of the HIV diagnosis in the U.S.) and the importance of removing barriers to HIV testing, prevention, and stigma free care.

Wellness Equity Alliance HIV Street Medicine brings HIV testing, prevention, treatment, behavioral health support, and wraparound care directly to people who are disconnected from traditional care settings.

This is what HIV Street Medicine: The Last Mile is about. The science to end the HIV Epidemic exists. The challenge is making sure prevention, treatment, and continuity of care reach the unsheltered by bringing care directly to people on sidewalks, in encampments, at reentry centers, and in rural areas.



HIV Medicine Association