My Path to Peer AdvocacySeptember/October 2002
My name is Kimberly Howard. Before I became a peer advocate at AIDS Project Los Angeles, I was a client. I was diagnosed with full-blown AIDS on Feb. 13, 1998. After receiving this news, I came straight to APLA to find out what was available to women. At APLA, I learned what a T-cell count was and how important a low viral load is. I went to the women's luncheons with my mom, and we gained knowledge together. I began to meet other women who were infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. I became active in speaking out on issues regarding HIV/AIDS and I began to volunteer at APLA. On the second and fourth Wednesday of each month we have Women's Luncheons. Many of the women who attend these luncheons are the same women who were here in 1998 to welcome me. I feel as though my life has come full circle. As a client I know I need a lot of information in a basic way, so I try to continue that effort. As a woman, I know that I tend to take care of others before my own needs. So at the luncheons I always try to do something special. If you're a woman with HIV/AIDS -- infected or affected -- please know that I am here to talk things over with, provide support and help you find answers to your questions. Please contact me at (213) 201-1677 or drop by the David Geffen Center, 611 S. Kingsley Drive, Los Angeles.
Back to the September/October 2002 issue of Positive Living.
![]()
|