I don’t know about you, but growing up, I was taught that there was no such thing as a ‘stupid question’. Then I started university, where one of my first-year professors informed the entire class that there could indeed be stupid questions. I don’t mind telling you that I found myself confused. But now, doing the job that I do, I can tell you that if someone has the courage to ask a question about sex or STIs or HIV, there is no way that question can be stupid. Bewildering perhaps, but not stupid.

As you may know, I spend a fair chunk of my time speaking to youth about safer sex, a topic that is rarely dull. My audiences are, in many ways, also my raw data. They let me know what’s going on in schools, at parties, at their jobs, in their homes etc., but they also give me a pretty good baseline of where our youth are with their understanding of sexual education. When I first started with AIDS New Brunswick, I thought for sure that knowledge about sex would increase with the age of my audience. For example, I felt that speaking to a university class about sex and prevention mechanisms would be worlds apart from speaking to a group of 10th graders. I was wrong; a person’s knowledge about HIV or STIs or sex in general does not seem to correlate very much with age.

A colleague of mine was speaking with a group of youth about condom use and safer sex, when one brave participant about 16 offered, “I don’t need to worry about condoms, my boyfriend has Spray-on Condoms”. Okay, first off, to the best of my knowledge, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SPRAY-ON CONDOMS. After a quick Google search I can say that there was an attempt at making them, but due to several problems, they were never put on the market. I can only imagine the conversation that would ensue pre-coitus: “Don’t worry about it, I have these new spray on condoms”. And what about the bottle? Perhaps a bottle of water with a really nice computer-generated label on it. Extra points if it’s a bottle of lube!

Seriously, lets think about this for a second. We do have spray-on latex (paint), spray-on Band-Aids, spray-on cheese, and spray-on butter. Why couldn’t there be spray-on condoms? And now this young person has to come to the realization that she has been having unprotected sex with her boyfriend (who has been deceiving her). Now all I can think of is the conversation that would happen post-AIDS New Brunswick Sex Education session.

About a month ago, I was invited to give a presentation to an Advanced Human Sexuality Class at my old alma mater (by old I mean I graduated in 2010). The course was actually taught by the same professor who had taught Human Sexuality to me some 3 years earlier. Yeah, her sitting in the back of the class while I did my Harm Reduction and Condom Show wasn’t intimidating at all (note sarcasm). The presentation was fantastic; the students were engaged and asked some great questions, mostly of an academic nature as I had expected, being a member of this audience only a few years previous. At the end of each session we have our participants fill out an evaluation form so that we know what things work and what things don’t. We did very well, and had lots of great feedback. One evaluation read, “I didn’t know that condoms reduced the risk of transmitting HIV. I was raised to think that if one person was HIV+ and they had sex with another person, that person would catch HIV, regardless of protection.” I can only imagine that this person has been terrified of sex for YEARS and now can finally relax a little.

Now let’s talk about the first time I did an Info Booth at a High School Health Fair. It was actually the first booth I worked after taking this job, and was pretty nervous about it. I went to the school, setup, put out my vast assortment of condoms, and waited for the rush of eager students to descend on my display. *Crickets* Okay, so turns out that students are a little shy when it comes to a booth that reads AIDS New Brunswick. After a while, word got around the crowded gym that I was giving out condoms, and just like that I was SWAMPED. After the students had calmed down a little, I was left with a steady stream of interested youth who wanted to ask me questions about HIV/AIDS and STIs.

One youth in particular I’ll never forget. He and his friends approached me with a tremendous amount of bravado, poking fun at the word “AIDS” and snatching up condoms in an exaggerated fashion. After much of the group had cleared, and this one fellow was left, he looked me square in the face, and with total dead-pan asked “Can I catch AIDS from poop” not even “shit”, “poop”. First, I corrected him and told him that one cannot “catch” AIDS, AIDS is a syndrome, one can catch HIV. Second, I explained to him that there are five body fluids that HIV lives in; Blood, Semen, Vaginal Fluid, Breast Milk, and Rectal Fluid, so not necessarily ”poop”, but rather the fluids that are happening in the anus. I did a brief HIV 101 with him, where I learned that he knew that HIV did not discriminate between sexual orientation or people, but he also knew that when HIV first broke in the 80′s it was among gay men. Gay men have anal sex, there is poop in the anus, ergo, [HIV] lives in poop. He explained to me that he thought that so long as he wasn’t having unprotected ANAL sex with his girlfriend then he would not be at risk of contracted HIV. I corrected him, and then we had a talk about STIs.

This post has been pretty youth centred, and that’s because it’s the group I work with the most. But I do get a lot of adults (by adults I mean north of 30) wandering into my office to ask me questions about safer sex. One walk-in had just gotten out of a long-term relationship and had never used condoms and needed me to break out the Ol’ wooden penis kit (remember, the ones from sex ed in school?) and demonstrate how to put a condom on. Another had only  just started having sex and needed a complete introduction to safer sex. In fact they felt that since they had “come late to the party” their partner(s) would be better versed in the ways of safer sex and therefore were entrusting their own safety to their partner(s). We talked about taking ownership of one's own sexual activities and we gave some information about safer sex. Both of these people had their preconceived notions about sex (and how and when to make it safer), and they were comparable to the ones mentioned here in this post.A person’s knowledge level about sex ed does not necessarily correlate with age. An older generation may have more life experience, but that also means that they may have more misguided information and/or assumptions.

It seems to be really easy for people to draw their own conclusions about sex (and safer sex) based on the assorted bits of information they have accumulated. These conclusions can sometimes be misguided and harmful. Talking about sex isn’t the problem so much as talking about one's own sex. If a person is unable to talk about the broad topic of sex, then talking about the sub-category of safer sex probably isn’t going to happen either. Drawing conclusions about sex is a great start, but please research the answers, ask questions, challenge answers.

In my first year of university, I took an English course taught by this amazing prof. He told us on the first day “I do not hold a monopoly on the truth.” This has been a motto of mine ever since. I may not always be right, and neither may you, so keep asking questions, keep looking for answers. Just because something makes sense doesn’t mean that it’s accurate. There are no stupid questions, so ask them.

This article was first published in the blog of AIDS New Brunswick, which you can find here. 

You can read Bob Leahy’s interview with Daniel Bauer here.

Wowsa!!! Time has seriously flown by since Bob Leahy of PositiveLite.com did a story on me back in September 2011.  I can’t even begin to express how liberating and free my soul feels since that interview.

I am truly indebted to PositiveLite.com for helping me kick-start my journey back into the public’s eye as a renewed face and voice in the fight against HIV/AIDS.  I am also grateful to all of the other publications who came across the interview and reposted it on their sites. You have all made a difference in my journey.

I believe that in everyday life, we should all stop, take a deep breath and check-in with ourselves to make sure we are still on task with achieving goals we have set for ourselves; check-points if you will to make sure that life is not passing us by, because I genuinely believe there is much to live for;  even for someone like me who was once homeless, on the streets battling meth addiction following my HIV diagnosis, being thrown to the corner of the world where I was no longer wanted.

Standing tall, and regaining my inner strength and accepting my HIV and telling my story has made and continues to make a difference in how I am living life today. In these past four months, more has happened than I could even begin to imagine!

Little did I know that following the interview back in 2011, the attention, support and love I would experience would come pouring in pretty quickly from around the world.   A bit overwhelming at first and still is, I must admit.

Since the interview with PositiveLite.com, I was very lucky and grateful to be invited by the PozIAm Blog-Talk Radio Show for an interview and just recently was interviewed by HIV Plus Magazine, though not sure when (or if) they are going to publish that interview.

For me though, what matters most, is not all the attention I am getting, it’s the progress I am making, getting steps closer to making my own personal dreams come true. I am on this quest to become not only the world’s greatest escape artist, once again, but also a role model living with HIV/AIDS breaking down stigma, showing the world people living with HIV are living like everyone else; that we can still believe in our dreams and make them come true; AND that’s exactly what I have been doing.

One of the projects I have been working and completed on is to redesign both of my websites, www.livingpozitively.com   and www.dbhoudinii.com setting a virtual stage sharing with all those who stumble across my little dream and life a deeper perspective as to what I hope to accomplish as an HIV/AIDS Motivational Speaker and Entertainer.

With a lot of tireless effort, dedication and relentless focus, this past World AIDS Day I debuted my new speaking program, “Blunt-Talk: How I LiVE” to hundreds of New York City High School Students. Let me tell you, I was sweating bullets right up until the minute when I was introduced to come out on stage. First of all, New York City School High School students are a very INTIMIDATING AUDIENCE to stand in front of for any reason, much less debut a brand new speaking program! I have learned in my research that New York City Youth are very critical and almost impossible to captivate. So I had my work cut out for me and was worried (okay, more like terrified) that I would be booed off the stage or that the youth would run out the door the moment I revealed I was HIV positive and gay.

I spoke from my heart and delivered what is one powerful message of hope and life. I thought I would share some of the talk with you. The video excerpt is below.

I was stunned that when I was finished with my talk and question/answer session, that just about most of the students lined up to give me a hug, telling me I had changed their lives and that I was one of the best speakers they have ever heard!  A few weeks later I received a couple of letters from the School’s administration and a HUGE thank you letter from the students telling me what a difference I made in all of their lives and that my “World AIDS Day Assembly was one of the best we’ve seen in some time.” One student went as far as to write in the thank you card, “I’ve never met or heard of anyone like you. I personally am not one to be swayed by other’s experiences, but this was a huge exception. You and your story are the ultimate inspiration and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Stay Strong!”  

WOW! I am truly excited that my life story and my unique approach of “Blunt-Talk” is inspiring our youth to be conscious of life decisions they are making. My hope is that more people will discover my Blunt-Talk approach and bring this program to conferences, classrooms, and other venues around our nation.

In addition to “Blunt-Talk”, I have also begun to create a brand new magic and escape production, “Beyond-Belief”.  I am taking a bold step by creating a story-line that tells my story through the demonstration of classic and new magic as well as death-defying escape attempts! This new show is slated to open late spring 2012; however we shall see about that! I broke my ribs recently from a bad fall, so my practice and rehearsing have been put on hold until I am completely healed! Sucks! I can’t wait to get back into my strait-jacket! 

I can’t complain about life today. While everything is going fairly well, don’t be mistaken, I have had my ups and downs. I have my daily struggles. You’ll notice in this posit I don’t dwell or even bring up my struggles. I work through them with my support groups, friends and networks I have built. I do my best to keep my chin up, remain healthy and LIVE. Some days are not so easy, other days living is very easy. It all depends on how I choose to look at life when my eyes open each morning.

But this post isn’t just about me and what I have been up to in the last few months. This post is also about you and what you have been up to. So I am curious . . . how about you take a deep breath right now and check-in with yourself. What have you done to live your life in the last few months? I genuinely want to know so please share your comments.  I look forward to keeping you updated on my life as things continue to develop and together we are all making change for the better as we continue to fight for dignity for all those living with HIV/AIDS.

Here's where to find more of Daniel Bauer:

www.livingpozitively.com

www.dbhoudinii.com

Twitter: @LvngPozitively

Facebook: DanielBauerHoudinii

YouTube: LivingPozitively

The Song 'It Does Get Better', written by Georgey Payne (below right) , is set to be a positive message to anyone who experiences the struggles that can come with being different.

Georgey herself was moved to action by the experiences of a young gay friend: "I noticed one night he was worried about going home after working an evening, and when I asked him what was wrong he told me he was being bullied at school. I then listened while he explained everything that had been happening, and just remember feeling so sad at what he was having to go through. Being a songwriter, the best way I could think of to help raise money and awareness to prevent this kind of thing happening to others was to write a song. I then asked the most talented UK lesbian artists I know for their help by getting together to record it for charity, and they all said yes - without hesitation."

The L Project is focused on raising awareness and money in the UK. "If the song sells beyond the UK, that would be fantastic. If I jumped back now to age 13 and had heard a song like this, knowing I was gay, but had remained silent, I would have felt so happy, and realised it's not just me, and that I actually had a life waiting for me where I belong" says Georgey. "Our aim is to reach as many people as possible with the release of this single, young, old, friends and family of those affected, it doesn't matter who you are, we all have a chance to help make difference. Our charities help prevent young gay people from being bullied - that's the focus of the L Project," says project partner Sofia Antonia Milone.

All the artists, promoters, sponsors, supporters and anyone else involved with The L Project came together because they are passionate about giving hope that it gets better to LGBT youth. As a result every single penny made from the sales of this single, including all royalties are being donated to charitiy.

Participating artists who worked on the charity single are Scottish legend, Horse, Georgey Payne & Emma Kavanagh (Greymatter), Sofia Antonia Milone (GeEkgiRL), Sandra MacBeth, Amber Taylor-Groves (HeadsHearts), Mel Sanson (Kenelis), Nina McCann, O'Hooley & Tidow, Lorna Thomas, Leanna Goring, Juey, Jess Gardham, Amy Sutton (Neon Choir), Nicky Mitchell, and Ella Chambers.

The benefiting charities are Diversity Role Models and Stonewall. Visit The L-Project on Facebook  for more information.

You can also follow the L Project on twitter at @thelproject11

 

In late September of 2010, while walking my dog with a friend along the banks of the Harlem River in Manhattan's Inwood Hill Park, my life was changed forever. In a shocking moment right out of 'Law and Order', I came upon a dead body floating face-down in the water. That experience alone was quite traumatic, without a doubt. But little did I know just how traumatic and life-altering it would turn out to be.

You see, that lifeless body in the water turned out to be young Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers University student who took his own life by leaping off the George Washington Bridge. Learning the identity of that man’s body hit me like a thunderbolt. It was as though the universe itself was trying to send me a message, telling me that there was a role I needed to play in this tragedy.  Since then, I have felt it my duty as a gay man to do anything and everything I can possibly do to raise awareness for the serious problem of, not just anti-LGBT bullying and its repercussions, but the insidious homophobia behind it.

On the eve of a tribute walk just a few weeks later across that bridge from which Tyler Clementi ended his life, I came to a realization that I still find fascinating and frightening. I’ve tweeted; posted on Facebook; written blog posts; wrote to Rutgers University’s president; been interviewed by media, including a journalist for a French TV documentary and quoted in The New Yorker magazine’s recent story about Tyler Clementi in my little crusade against homophobia and the toll it's taking on all of us, but mostly LGBT youth.  Throughout all of that and in turn the incredible show of support I've received from friends, family and total strangers alike, there has been one group of people who seem to be “sitting this one out”.

Though I’ve talked to a few who are genuinely troubled, men —specifically, straight men — don’t seem to want to speak very loudly, if at all, on this issue. Now, I’m not trying to over-generalize; I’ve gotten some wonderfully supportive messages from a few straight guys. Most certainly from Led Black, the editor of The Uptown Collective, an online magazine covering news and issues in my local neighborhood of Upper Manhattan. He wrote a great piece that I would love for you to read in which he speaks passionately to this issue. But, just ONE straight man out of hundreds in my social network and circle of friends feels as strongly about changing this awful condition? I simply refuse to believe that's the case.

This is an observation, not judgment. And I’m not subconsciously seeking approval from straight men either. Trust me: I have ranted, cried, screamed, and spoken about this issue and will continue to do so whether any straight people like it or not. I have to wonder though: are these men feeling guilty? Do they fear possibly being labeled as gay themselves for speaking up? Why do I not see more of them upset and concerned, or hear them talking about all of this? To me, this seems to be the clearest indication of just how deeply homophobia is entrenched in our culture. Personally, I know a lot of really wonderful, caring straight men, so I feel certain that they DO hurt for kids like Tyler who've lost all hope that "It Gets Better".

So...why do I all this? Why, after more than a year am I still talking about Tyler Clementi and my experience?

Because I will try anything -- EVERYTHING -- to be heard by straight people (especially the men) and make them understand: You simply MUST get involved. I know you don’t want to see kids in pain like this. Homophobia isn’t a gay problem, nor is it a straight problem — it’s a HUMAN problem. That being said, I truly believe the change in how it affects kids lies with you, straight people. Kids will continue dying — YOUR kids.  I’ve taken on this crusade to fight for LGBT youth because I was personally affected by one young man's senseless, tragic death but, frankly, it’s not mine to fight.

No, this fight is really yours, straight men. You are the key. I don’t know exactly what’s stopping you from joining the battle, but I’m here to tell you: it is never seen as weak or “gay” to save kids' lives.  It’s seen as compassion, as caring, and as love…love that comes from Fathers, Brothers, Grandsons, Uncles, Sons.

This article first appeared on Swish, the blog of a gay-straight alliance fighting for the equality of LGBT families, co-workers and loved ones.

Jim Swimm is a forty-year-old Texan transplant in New York City: Gay, HIV+ and simply trying to make the world a better place... “ ‘cause I’m a superhero like that”. You can follow him on Twitter @Jims_Whim

 

Editors note.  The first post from Iain Murtagh back in October 2011 describing the predicament of The Crescent and its clients had been placed in was a bit of a social media sensation.  You can read it here.  We recently asked Ian for an update, and this is what he gave us.

Iain Murtagh: Following our last article in October we have been very busy indeed! Demand for our services has increased as it became more apparent that the supposed replacement service could not meet the needs of service users in the west of Hertfordshire.

Obviously this presents some problems for us as we have no income to support the work; however we were extremely lucky to have gained the support of The Platinum Trust who provided a grant to fund a professional fundraiser. We have engaged the services of the International Fundraising Consultancy (IFC) and their CEO John Baguley has been working very hard on an appeal to raise funds for our service.

So far as a run up to the events we have attended St James’ Palace for an event hosted by the Duke of York, and The House of Lords to lunch with the Peers and talk about the Crescent and our need for help supporting people living with HIV/AIDS.

Our hardworking designer, Clive Batkin, has produced some simply amazing work, and often with little or no notice, has constructed a wonderful case for support which is to be used at the House of Lords this month.

As part of the fundraising process we have gained support from the Bishop of St Albans, the Right Rvrd Dr Alan Smith, The Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire - The Countess of Verulam, Lord Fowler, Former Secretary of State for Health (who was the architect of the 1980’s “Don’t die of Ignorance” campaign) and has for the last 9 months been Chair of a House of Lords Select Committee on HIV and AIDS in the UK. Most recently we have gained support from Lord Rennard, former Chief Executive of the Liberal Democrats and who has offered to host our fundraising appeal at the House of Lords later this month.

The Bishop of St Albans will also be visiting our service on March 5 to learn more about the work we do and to meet Members, Staff and Trustees.

We have gained two new high profile Patrons, CJ de Mooi and James Wharton who have been working hard to promote us and fundraise too.

Mr de Mooi is an actor and television personality and an extremely active campaigner for HIV and gay rights issues, also a Patron of the Sussex Beacon, an HIV support service in Brighton. Sussex Beacon provides both inpatient and outpatient services for people living with HIVand their families. He has volunteered for several HIV charities for many years and regularly participates in fundraising through charity quiz and chess events as well as running in numerous marathons to raise money for a variety of causes.

James Wharton is an out gay British Soldier, a member of the Household Cavalry, who appeared on the cover of Soldier magazine, the armed forces publication, with an in depth interview published on his life in 2009. James married his long term partner, Thomas, in March 2010, James and his husband became the first gay couple to be united by civil partnership, in the Household Cavalry's 350 year history. James has recently toured secondary schools in the UK as a positive role model for Stonewall in their Education for All campaign, talking of his experiences as an 'out' gay soldier in the British Military.In October 2011, James was ranked 17th in the Independent on Sunday's Pink list - the 101 most influential gay men and women in the country.

All of this is very good news indeed but we are still without support from our former funding partners in Hertfordshire and are continuing our campaign to resolve this. We are pleased that our contract was renewed for the Buckinghamshire service, although this is only funded from Buckinghamshire County Council with no financial input from NHS Buckinghamshire as yet.

However a service redesign is in progress which we expect will address this going forward. Unfortunately though the funding is still very low, and not quite 25% of the total funding we used to receive in Hertfordshire and therefore doesn’t allow us to provide a huge range of services on different days in Buckinghamshire, though we have increased this slightly to now offer a Saturday service to help those who work or are otherwise unavailable during the week to gain support.

Lord Fowler said in his supporting statement; “I fully support the work by the Crescent in St Albans for people living with HIV, their partners, families and friends. Over the last nine months I have been chairman of a Select Committee of the House of Lords on HIV in the United Kingdom. This is a crucial health issue and organisations like the Crescent totally deserve our support.”

Lord Rennard has said;“I fully support the work by the Crescent for people living with or affected by HIV, their partners, families and friends. This is a model organisation run by the people it helps, where those affected have a direct influence on how, and where, they receive the much needed help and support to enable them to manage their condition.”

In November last year we met with the Chief Executive of NHS Hertfordshire, Dr Jane Halpin and the Director of Systems Management, Beverly Flowers and are pleased to say that relations are improving with talk of our involvement in service design going forward. Whilst not wishing to dwell on the past too much we believe that this is a sign that it has been recognized that mistakes have been made and there is a desire to address these.

We also have a similar meeting scheduled with Hertfordshire County Council’s Director of Adult Care Services, Ms Sarah Pickup, this month arranged by Mr. de Mooi which hopefully will reveal a similar situation with more engagement with us going forward. Events around and for World Aids Day last year did bring some amazing results, proving that we do have the support of the general public. One event at our staunch supporters, the Load of Hay Public house in Watford raised over £3,000 which is simply amazing. Events in St Albans at the Abbey raising awareness, and our stall in the market with street collections had a very good result too; the result was pretty impressive with seemingly the majority of St Albans City Centre wearing red ribbons from our volunteers.

However this still leaves us in a very precarious position as we are effectively supporting our members without funding which we feel is a little unfair. We continue to publicise the plight of the people in West Hertfordshire who were promised service equitable with that offered in the east of the County but have anything but this from the organisation supposedly funded in our place.

We have already had to make key staff redundant and have effectively halved in size to enable us to run for longer, but still maintaining a full 5 day a week service with evening and weekend events / groups still running as before.

Our outreach and training services continue to be in great demand too. It is hard work, but very rewarding,

We are grateful for the continuing support of the Hertfordshire Advertiser who continue to fight alongside us, as well as local Councillors and MP’s Also the random kindness of complete strangers who have dropped in to see us, find out more about HIV in their community and even volunteer has been quite heartwarming.

We have steadily increased our volunteer base, and now have two therapists amongst the group who have been providing free therapies to members for some time now, ranging from massage and reflexology to more feel good treatments such as beauty treatments, facials, manicure and pedicures.

A lot has been achieved in the last few months but we still have so very far to go, I’m pleased that the two funding bodies in Hertfordshire seem to be reappraising their position but am concerned that this is taking rather a long time. We have so many people who rely on us for support and this needs to be taken into consideration.

Iain Murtagh is Head of Operations/Project Manager, The Crescent Support Group

You can read more about the fight to save The Crescent here. 

 

2012 marks the thirty year anniversary of some of the most important dates in the history of HIV and AIDS – the 30th anniversaries of the recognition of the AIDS epidemic by the US medical profession and the creation of the Terrence Higgins Trust in July. Terrence Higgins died in July 1982, the first man officially recognized to die of AIDS by the UK medical profession, NHS. Photographer Edoardo Zollo is calling out for 30 people who are HIV-positive to come forward for a project he is working on to commemorate these events. The photo project is called: Stand Tall, Get Snapped: 30 HIV POZ people.

World AIDS Day rolls around every year, and sure, we will occasionally put a pound in the charity box and maybe we will even participate in a fundraising event for people who live with the disease, but do we really think about it seriously? Well, there is a guy who had a sudden realization of what it could potentially be like to be HIV-positive, and realized there was more he could do to help raise awareness of the disease.  Edoardo Zollo says ‘I had a close encounter with HIV last September. I had unprotected sex with a person I knew who was positive; it was just a one-night stand. The following day I went to the clinic and started PEP [Post Exposure Prophylaxis - the course of antiretrovirals that can help defend against HIV if taken within 48 hours of possible infection] for 28 days, and the side effects were pretty intense, which made me think how difficult it must be living as someone with HIV – socially, physically, emotionally and financially. So being a photographer, there must be a way I can send the message through, so I thought “Let’s do it as a photography project!””

Having carried out projects similar to this with the elderly, dogs deemed too dangerous by the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act, prisoners undergoing rehabilitation and people with full-body tattoos, Edo seems to enjoy pushing the boundaries of assumption: ‘“Assumptions are the biggest fuck-up in life’.

“So, by these projects I try and break assumptions and break it down to individuality. So, if you go into the HIV project, I’m trying to break down the assumption that you can recognize someone with HIV by them being gay, skinny, pale, close to death – these are the assumptions about people with HIV that are given”. It is these prejudices that Edo would like to help to dispel; “I started this project by wanting to raise awareness around World AIDs Day – that [AIDS] is not just a ‘gay’ disease. So what I wanted to achieve was to bring in as diverse a group as possible – women, men, straight, gay, different religious, skin colours.

Ideally I would like to meet the subject in his/her familiar environment. I’m prepared to travel within the UK if given plenty of notice, and take the photos in a location that has strong emotional connections with their status. I would also like a 150 words statement to go with the photo, what I’m looking for is a description of the subject’s journey from the day of being diagnosed to today, and one or two lines to explain why they chose that particular location, and their year of birth.

The exhibition gallery space is the reading room in Soho, Central London. It will be in November until December 2012, right around the 30-year anniversary.

For more information, follow Edo on Twitter, check out his Tumblr, for more pics, spot his Flickr, and if you are interested in taking part, email him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.