‘Ms. Meta’ on frontline, empowering others facing HIV
At 62, Meta Smith-Davis is often celebrated as a hero for her work with HIV/AIDS. The self-described to’ up from the flo’ up, ex-con, drug-addicted, homeless Black woman living with HIV, says, “All I did was clean their mirror so they could see what I saw… All I did was clean the mirror so that they could do the work.” The work, she said, is being able to come to terms with an HIV-positive diagnosis and doing everything necessary to live a whole, healthy life.
Fact: Eliminating stigmas can reduce the spread of HIV
The fact remains: There are still many stigmas around HIV/AIDS which are critical barriers to preventing the disease from spreading. In a city like Baton Rouge where new HIV diagnoses register as some of the highest in the nation, prevention is critical to stopping the disease and saving lives, said Tim Young, executive director of … Continue reading
With HIV rates topping the nation, Baton Rouge needs HAART, Open Health, and PreP
In a city with the highest rates of newly diagnosed HIV cases in the nation, is HAART positioned to slow down the spread of the virus that cause AIDS?
