By Helen Adamopoulos
They wake up in the morning smiling. They get dressed and take the bus to work. They go shopping at Trader Joe's, pay their bills and walk their dogs. They go to church, play with their kids and grow enormous pumpkins in their gardens. They are people living with HIV.
Positively Aware, a magazine published by Chicago's Test Positive Aware Network ( TPAN ) , depicts people affected by HIV taking part in all of these activities and more in the photo essay "A Day with HIV in America" in its November/December issue. The pictures show people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds and all ages going about their daily routines in communities from New York to Los Angeles. Positively Aware editor Jeff Berry said the point of the essay is to create a sense of community and humanize HIV.
"It will really put a face on the epidemic," Berry said. "I hope it will chip away at some of the stigma."
The 26-photo essay features snapshots people around the country took Sept. 21. Berry said the magazine received more than 100 submissions. Participants also wrote captions for their pictures, sharing details about their lives.
"I was really astounded by the variety and diversity," Berry said. "It was actually very moving. So often we just hear about statistics."
One photo that stuck with Berry features Ann Wright and her HIV-positive twin girls, Sade and Mya. Each grinning girl holds a black poodle in her arms. The caption says they want to be veterinarians. Another photo shows Jennifer Jako, who has been HIV-positive for 20 years, pushing her 4-year-old daughter Biancamouth open in an ecstatic smile, hair flyingon a swing. Bianca was born HIV-negative because of highly active antiretroviral therapy ( HAART ) .
"Stories like that, they're so powerful and yet so everyday," Berry said. "It makes me want to just continue to try to tell these stories."
The project began at a Positively Aware planning meeting last August as part of a discussion about what the magazine should do for World AIDS Day Dec. 1. Berry said Positively Aware Art Director Rick Guasco came up with the idea. Despite the lack of time and tight budget, Berry writes in his editor's note for the November/December issue that they proceeded "full-tilt boogie" with the project.
Berry said that aside from himself and Guasco, Operations and IT Coordinator Josh Thorne and Editorial Assistant Sue Saltmarsh worked on the photo essay. They created the Web site adaywithhiv.com as well as a Facebook page and a Twitter account to advertise the project.
Berry said he and Guasco decided which photos to print in the magazine as part of the five-page essay. All of the submissions can be viewed at adaywithhiv.com .
"We tried to choose those which really reflected what the project was about and showed diversity," Berry said.
Evany Turkwho manages the Positive Adherence and Stable Housing Now ( PASHN ) medication adherence program at the Chicago House and Social Service Agencyis one of the 26 whose photos were printed. The picture shows Turk and her sons6-year-old Kywon Nelson and 17-year-old DeShawn Turkin front of their house before they left for school.
"My family is my motivation for living and doing good and trying to change," Turk said. "I have to take care of them, so I have to keep myself healthy. That's what a day with HIV for me is. All the things I do in a day, I do to better my kids' life."
Cyber activist Robert Breining, who also has a photo in the magazine, said it's a great idea to send the message that HIV-positive people aren't that different from those who don't have it. In his picture, Breining holds a 45-pound pumpkin he and his partner grew in their garden in Levittown, Penn.
"Everybody thinks that we're this skinny person that lies in bed taking their medicine," Breining said. "It just shows we're normal people."
Breining reaches out to others with HIV through his Web site PozIAm.com . He said that if people with HIV aren't comfortable with their status, then others won't be either.
Berry agrees that people who are positive need to identify themselves without fear of being ostracized. He said educating people and raising awareness will help reduce the stigma.
"A lot of it's just based on fear, but also ignorance about how the virus is transmitted," Berry said. "We need to bring the discussion up and not be afraid to come forward."
Berry said that although they do not have any definite plans, the Positively Aware staff members are considering making the photo essay an ongoing project. For more information about TPAN and Positively Aware, visit tpan.com and positivelyaware.com .