Living With Hope

Few factors impact our ability to protect ourselves from HIV more than our level of self-esteem. When our sense of self-worth is high, we are better able to choose partners who care for us and have our best interest at heart; we get tested so that we know our HIV status; we engage in the difficult conversations that accompany responsible sexual activity; we consistently practice safer sex and make necessary disclosures about our previous behavior, other partners, STDs or HIV, for instance; we know our partner's HIV status; and we obtain appropriate care and treatment.

In this issue Justin B. Smith-Terry writes about how low self-worth, developed in a homophobic environment in which he lacked needed support, left him searching for love in ways that made him vulnerable to HIV. Importantly though, Justin disclosed his HIV-positive status to his family and loved ones. The love and acceptance he received strengthened him in ways that now allow him to receive appropriate care and treatment and lead the fight against HIV/AIDS as an activist and the author of Justin's HIV Journal.

Not everyone who has HIV knows it, practices safer sex or discloses their status to their partners—and not everyone who gets tested returns to receive their results. Health department disease-intervention specialists track people down, informing them of their positive status, or that a previous sexual partner has tested positive, or imploring them to get tested before they potentially spread the virus to someone else. Health writer Cindy George writes about how that process takes place in Houston, our nation's fourth largest city.

Finally, don't forget to check out "What We're Reading," our list of some of the stories we've read over the past week on HIV/AIDS, sexual and reproductive health, and other related issues of interest to the Black community.

Yours in the struggle,