The HIV epidemic in Metro Atlanta is being fueled by Black women. According to AID Atlanta, 90% of all new diagnoses are among Black Women. We’re hosting Thrift and Thrive on Saturday, July 18th, from 11AM - 3PM at 2WThrift at 300 Wharton Circle off Fulton-Industrial.
Come out for Primary and HIV health care provided by the Empowerment Resource Center. Today I’m sharing my conversation with Doreliza Hall-Hammond, who was diagnosed with HIV at the age of 21. She advocates to increase awareness among young adults and shares her story.
I asked Hall-Hammond about her feelings when she learned she was HIV positive. She shares that her first thought was “my mother is going to kill me.” She speaks about it taking a while before she could accept the new diagnosis. She says her mother accepted it before she did. She shares that receiving the diagnosis as a young adult changed her life.
She speaks about being told by a healthcare provider that she wouldn’t live to see thirty and feeling isolated before finally getting to the right place to receive assistance. Hall-Hammond has lived a full life as an HIV-positive adult, but she shares that prevention is the better way to live. She speaks about different types of condoms that are available for safe sex. She talks to young adults at her church, explaining that you can learn the hard way or listen to folks who have been there, done that, and learn from their mistakes.
For more information and testing for HIV prevention, reach out to the Empowerment Resource Center.