In addition to living with HIV and doing related work, I’ve also been a caregiver and though my work, met some amazing people. As a white, educated, financially stable man, I feel that I have privilege and safety that many living with HIV do not have. I’ve always felt passionate about challenging people’s perspectives and hopefully changing how people think and therefore interact with one another. Many of the stories that I’ve heard are from people who couldn’t use their own voice and part of my passion and hope is to ensure that their voices are not forgotten.

Even with the privilege that I feel I have in my life HIV stigma is alive and strong in my life. I hope that by sharing experiences and stories that people will have specific examples of how behavior which is often not intended to stigmatize, can have a significant impact on the overall health and well-being of another human being.