David

There are people in my life that are are not comfortable with disclosing their HIV status and I am their sounding board as a person to come to, their outlet so to speak, in regards to what they’re dealing with.
It’s just disheartening to me that they don’t have the same support system that I have. You know I have that shoulder with my father and my siblings that I can discuss and disclose anything to them and we’ll will still be okay.
I’m not able to feel or understand exactly what they have to deal with on a day-to-day basis but I still have to deal with being an openly gay black male here in this society.
Being a HIV negative man I can be the example to let them know that it’s okay that you have the illness, that it’s okay to have someone to have a shoulder to lean on. You have to accept who you are for you.

As an out, gay, Black man, David supports people close to him who are living with HIV. He wishes that some of his friends had a stronger support network that made them feel more comfortable to be open about who they are, in all ways.