Rarely as we get older do we think about the letters of the alphabet, but three letters of the alphabet have changed my life.
In early 2005, I left my rural Louisiana home to return to a city I fell in love with, New Orleans. I was tired of family members telling me how I should get my life together. They all had brilliant ideas but none of them wanted to help me, so I decided to help myself. With less than a hundred dollars to my name, I caught the bus to New Orleans...without a plan. When I got there I did not know where I was going to sleep or shower or how I was going to eat or do anything.
I quickly found out many men wanted to be with me, and I wanted to be wanted so to speak. I turned to hustling my body as a means of survival. Money to get basic needs was more important to me than protection. In April of 2005, I met a man who brought across America to Eugene, Oregon...away from everything I had ever known. He became abusive, so I left him and was homeless again.
I started going to a local drop-in center for homeless and run away youth. There I met an HIV tester from a local agency who offered me $10 to take an HIV test...$10. Eight days before my twentieth birthday, I found out I was infected with HIV. I cried, and then I made the decision to educate myself.
I started volunteering at HIV Alliance with their Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) outreach program. With the help of HIV Alliance, I got my own apartment and insurance. I got myself back into school at the University of Oregon. I then became a speaker in schools through the Youth Education Program at HIV Alliance, so I could put a young face on HIV. I go out and talk to my peers about HIV and advocate for folks who are HIV+. However I did not feel what I was doing was such a big deal until June of this year. In June, I was awarded a Colin Higgins Youth Courage Award which honors LGBT youth making a difference in their communities. That award also came with a check for $10,000 which has gone toward my education.
I do not speak out for recognition though...I speak out because although to the world I may be one person, but to one person I may be the world...my voice is only one voice, but it is a voice I will make heard...and if only one person hears my voice and it protects them from getting HIV everything I have done and will do surrounding this issue will be worthwhile...
Remember to love and stay true to yourself ~ Cree
Who’s Positive is gracious to Dan Welton Photography (http://www.weltonphoto.com) for donating his time in taking photographs of Cree for his profile.
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