Tell me part of your story of living with HIV?
I was diagnosed in 2002. I went to a party. They had a mobile unite outside for testing. I didn’t think I had HIV, so I got tested. Back then, they had to do a second test for verification. So I had to wait two weeks to find out if I was positive or not. The test results came back and I was HIV+. Back then, they didn’t make me get on medicine right away. So I procrastinated a bit, but got on medicine about a year later. Looking back, I should have gotten on it right away. It was lack of education on my part and the guidance at the time.
After I got on medicine, I got connected with Brothers United at the time (now known as BU Wellness Network). They got me into care. My experience has been great once I got on medicines.
I used to be quiet, let other people speak for myself. I’ve learned to speak up more to get things done.
What would ending the HIV Epidemic mean to you?
I think today, a lot of people struggle with their diagnosis – they just want to survive, live house to house. They’re depressed about their diagnosis and gravitate sometimes to using drugs. There is a lot of homelessness and struggles day to day.
Ending the HIV Epidemic means that we will have people on their medicine who are undetectable; we would have people who are HIV-negative on PrEP to step them from getting HIV. We’d have less people using drugs because of their diagnosis, less homelessness. People will take care of themselves better, including other health problems like heart disease, diabetes, cancer and stuff like that. So we’d have a trickle down effect into all sorts of other areas.
More importantly, we would have a cure!
What does U=U mean to you? How does it affect your life?
I’m undetectable (U+). I have a partner who is HIV-negative. Being undetectable means I can’t pass HIV onto my partner.
I advocate for a lot of my clients to make sure they take their medicine. I try to figure out what the barriers are for not taking their medicine.
So U=U means a lot to me. We have to start there to end the epidemic!
How long have you been undetectable?
22 years
