There is a curiosity that exists because people don’t think HIV is still around, or they didn’t know it was this bad. We don’t hear about it anymore. I believe what intrigues the media about the South Carolina HIV/AIDS Council is our mobile outreach program, particularly within the faith community. People are seeking solutions, and I am choosing to believe that mobile outreach demonstrates to the larger community that we have to get actively involved and not sit behind our desks. We must eliminate and reduce stigma so that people aren’t afraid to get tested.

I’ve used the Living Quilt in so many ways, but mostly as a means of advocacy and putting a face to this issue for legislators. There has never been an innovation like the Living Quilt that has allowed us to direct people who don’t have any source of reflection to hear from those people who have the greatest insight on learning how it is to live with this health condition. There is a greater willingness to hear from those who have a voice, and the Living Quilt is the means by which we first introduce legislators to these HIV-positive women. There is no compulsion to act unless it is in their back door and they admit HIV/AIDS is in their state and community. The testimonies on the Living Quilt provide an opportunity to gain insight into individual risk, that those viewing the Quilt could also be on the Quilt.

Routine testing eliminates fear and judgmental factors because people don’t ask for the test and the medical community only asks those who are perceived to be at risk. I am a firm believer that HIV testing should be routinized so that people don’t see testing as abnormal, but that it is commonplace, similar to their blood pressure reading as a barometer of good health, no matter your socioeconomic status. Youth are becoming increasingly vulnerable to infection. We can either wake up and smell the coffee, or continue to see the manifestation of our neglect: young people who will move into their middle years with AIDS. HIV testing should not be an age issue.

POSITIVE Voices was created by Deadra Lawson Smith and other empowered women living with HIV/AIDS in South Carolina. P.O.S.I.T.I.V.E. stands for Proactive, Optimistic, Sisters, In Touch, Involved, Validated and Empowered. Those words should be taken collectively to mean not just women, but everyone has to be proactive. POSITIVE Voices is designed to promote a sense of empowerment and increased validation among HIV-positive women, so as to nurture an optimistic view of the world. POSITIVE Voices is our critical attempt to identify and recruit women who are willing and able to become empowered leaders in their communities. HIV/AIDS has not been addressed from the female perspective, and that needs to be changed. Organizations like the National Black Women’s HIV/AIDS Network, W.O.R.L.D., The Women’s Collective, The Black Women’s Health Imperative, Positive Efforts (Houston), Sisters Together and Reaching (Baltimore), Sister Love (Atlanta) are only a few examples of national and state specific organizations that continue to struggle to establish women and HIV/AIDS as a priority. The Quilt provides a platform for all of us to move forward as one.

1. Surround yourself with people who have an ideology of service and are willing to go the extra mile.
2. Educate yourself and seek out knowledge at your local AIDS service organization.
3. Make a sacrifice and support HIV in some way. That might mean making a donation to an AIDS service organization.
4. Talk to your pastor or social network to sense the challenges you may face before going into the HIV/AIDS arena.
5. Be a proactive participant rather than a passive observer. Beyond that, it’s a business conversation. We’re in the business of saving lives.