Hundreds of people living with HIV converged on Cleveland this week for Staying Alive 2007, the annual conference organized by the National Association of People With AIDS (NAPWA) to highlight the epidemic’s challenges and triumphs. The three-day meeting is the only U.S. conference organized by and for positive people.
Yesterday’s events included a leadership meeting of the National Women and AIDS Collective (NWAC), and tonight, attendees will attend a Positive Leadership Awards Dinner followed by Latin dancing.
Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
Woman of the Month is supported by exclusive advertising from Gilead.
Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."
