Russelle Miller-Hill (Rusti) is a Counselor and Reproductive Health Worker at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s Division of Substance Abuse. Rusti’s professional and volunteer community work for close to 20 years has focused on assisting individuals living with HIV or AIDS and those at high-risk of HIV transmission. In this capacity, she provides crisis intervention and supportive case management to women in the hospital’s methadone maintenance treatment program.
Prior to her work with Albert Einstein, Rusti was an outreach case manager for the Northern Manhattan Perinatal Partnership where she developed referral and retention protocols for partnership members, trained the consumer advisory group, and conducted outreach to high-risk women in Central Harlem. She has also worked as a housing operations developer for the Staten Island AIDS Task Force, a residence operations manager at Harlem United Community AIDS Service Center, an entitlement specialist at the Momentum AIDS Project, and an outreach worker for the Community Action Prenatal Coalition. Rusti is an Advisory Board member with the Legal Action Center’s Women’s Initiative to Stop HIV in New York, a coordinator of the Women’s HIV Collaborative Community Ambassadors Program, Co-chair of the U.S. Positive Women’s Network – NY Chapter, and the Co-chair of the Coalition for Women Prisoners’ Conditions on the Inside/Reentry committee. She was very instrumental as part of her work with the Coalition for Women Prisoners’ in getting the Governor of New York, David Patterson, to sign a bill that would require that the NYC Department of Health provide oversight to the health of prisoners. Prior to this, all the health care was privately contracted, and therefore varied from prison to prison. This bill will help to ensure that every prisoner will have access to the same care.
Rusti was involved in the Women’s HIV Collaborative work, which included policy, advocacy and research on behalf of women living with AIDS in New York City. In 2005, the Women’s HIV Collaborative incorporated and became its own non-profit organization, and Rusti was among its first Board of Directors.
For close to two decades, Rusti has been a steadfast activist on the city, state and federal level for women directly impacted by the AIDS epidemic. She is a long-time Harlem resident and a pioneer in the early initiatives to bring the voice and experience of women directly affected by the AIDS epidemic into the policymaking efforts to improve care, treatment and supportive services for women affected AIDS. A much in demand public and motivational speaker, Rusti’s personal story of overcoming the challenges of incarceration and living with AIDS has been documented in several films, including Rusti’s Story, Sister’s Keeper, House on Fire and Coming to Life, as well as print media including Love’s Recovery and Welfare Deformed, and My Sister’s Keeper, A Book for Women Returning Home from Prison or Jail.
On a 2008 conference panel, sponsored by the National Council for Research on Women, Rusti said, “If you have no secrets, then nothing can be held against you.” She models this every day by openly sharing those things that many people would see as secrets, such as her HIV status and her history of incarceration. She is an exemplary person and leader, and the best example of the ability of formerly incarcerated people to overcome personal hardship, stigma and discrimination after her release from incarceration in 1993 with grace, dignity, selflessness, and a determination to blaze a trail for other incarcerated and formerly incarcerated persons by establishing a real track record of achievement.
She has also served as an executive office member of the Health and Human Services HIV Planning Council of New York City, a co-chair of the People with AIDS Advisory Board, a Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Women’s HIV Collaborative of New York, a member Justice Works Community’s Women of Substance program, and a core member of Women on the Rise Telling Herstory (WORTH).
Upon her release from prison in 1993, Rusti has continued to make a contribution to the community. In 2001 as a core member of The Pioneers, an advocacy group founded and convened by the Federation of Protestant Welfare agencies to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and advocate for humane public policies through peer education and advocacy. Rusti has personally counseled, mentored, escorted, collaborated with and inspired hundreds of women, both women living with AIDS and women who are incarcerated and formerly incarcerated, and their allies through her training and work as an HIV/AIDS counselor and tester, community educator and organizer, group facilitator and source of support for others in recovery from substance abuse, as well as those transitioning home from incarceration. Women who are newly-diagnosed with HIV continue to be inspired by her example to face down AIDS stigma by coming out of the shadows, often recognizing her from one of the several documentaries in which her personal experience with incarceration and her AIDS diagnosis has been featured. Moreover, as the founder of Brandon’s House, the Tier I transitional housing program incorporated in 2000, Rusti is providing much needed supportive housing and services to some of the most vulnerable individuals in her community. Last year, Brandon’s House was gifted an entire floor for program and Living space at the New Testament Church in Harlem. The space will be renovated to provide emergency housing to women returning to the Village of Harlem. Transitional housing is a challenge to establish and maintain and Rusti’s commitment to making her dream real is a tremendous accomplishment that shows initiative, drive, vision and a true commitment to be of service and make a difference in her community.
Furthermore, in 2002, Rusti graduated from The Center for Women’s Organizing and was the Recipient of The Vision Award. Other accolades include being chosen by her peers as an UNSUNG HERO at the 2006 United States Conference on AIDS, being chosen to represent the Northern United States by the Center for Development and Population Activities Global response to HIV/AIDS in 2007 and in 2011 she will be graduating with a Bachelor’s in Human Resources and will go on to pursue a Master’s degree in Public Administration.
Ms. Russelle Miller-Hill is being awarded the Citizens Against Recidivism’s Life Time Achievement Award as a formerly incarcerated women living with AIDS who has demonstrated a steadfast personal and professional commitment to use her lived experience and training as a role model, voice, and social policy change be impacted the AIDS epidemic and incarceration.
[…] Glen E. Martin Advocate of the Year Award: Russelle (Rusti) Miller-Hill […]
Hello!
I work with the PACE men of Sing Sing, and they are looking to get in touch with Ms. Miller-Hill about speaking at their annual World AIDS Day festival, but I can’t seem to find contact information for her. Can anyone help? Thanks so much!
Attention : miller hill,
Am Tony Kenyan living in Kenya i tested HIV positive in 2002 but still going strong not yet on medicine and now am taking care of HIV/aids orphans and women living with aids in Africa. please can i get in touch via your email address you story is good one its so encouraging my dear keep up the good work and spirit. am hoping to hea from you soon.
sincerely,
Tony.
Am Tony Kenyan tested in year 2002 and living strong. i read your story miller and its encouraging please can i communicate with you directly via your email address ? am currently taking care of HIV/aids orphans and widows living with aids in Kenya. my email is tonpoll@yahoo.com