Updated August 2026
Community Hub — RiseUpToHIV
You Are Not
Alone in This.
Resilient. Connected. Determined. This is your way in — people to follow, events to attend, and ways to show up.
Diagnosed today or this week?
You are going to be okay. Read this first — six steps that matter in the first days.
💜
Newly Diagnosed — Start Here
If you just found out you have HIV, please read this first. You are going to be okay. People with HIV live long, full lives. You can have relationships, sex, children, and a career. You cannot pass HIV to a partner once you're on effective treatment — that's U=U, Undetectable=Untransmittable, and it's backed by the CDC and years of research. The first steps are simple, and there are people ready to help you today.
🏥
Get into care within 30 days
Use our Florida & national care locator to find a clinic near you. Any Ryan White clinic will see you regardless of your insurance or ability to pay. In Florida, dial 2-1-1 or call the Florida HIV/AIDS Hotline at 1-800-352-2437 — they will help you get an appointment.
Find care near you →
💊
Start treatment right away
Modern HIV medication is often just one pill a day — or a long-acting shot every one to two months. Most people become undetectable within one to three months of starting treatment (HIV.gov). There's no reason to wait, and no reason to feel behind.
Learn about treatment →
🤝
Talk to someone who's been there
Peer support saves lives in the first weeks after a diagnosis. Florida's Positive Champions Speakers Bureau and the POZ Forums connect you with people living with HIV right now. The person who built this site has been living with HIV for 16 years — this whole hub is proof that a full life is still ahead of you.
Find peer support →
✅
Learn about U=U
Undetectable=Untransmittable is the single most important fact for your dating life and your mental health. Once your viral load is undetectable, you cannot transmit HIV sexually — full stop. Read the science on our prevention page.
Understand U=U →
🛑
Take a breath before telling everyone
You get to decide who knows, when, and how. There's no deadline. If you want, talk to a counselor before disclosing to family or partners — many Ryan White clinics offer this free. This is your story, and you tell it on your terms.
You're in control of this →
📞
Emergency support, right now
If you're overwhelmed and need to talk to someone immediately: SAMHSA Helpline 1-800-662-4357 (free, 24/7, English & Spanish), The Trevor Project 1-866-488-7386 (LGBTQ+ youth), or 988 for any crisis, any time.
You don't have to wait until you're in crisis to call →
🗓️
2026 Events Calendar
A curated list of major recurring HIV walks, rides, conferences, and community events — national and international, with 🌴 Florida events tagged. These are established, well-known annual events, not a complete directory. Dates below reflect confirmed 2026 editions where available, sourced directly from each event's official site; a few later-in-the-year events are still listed as "TBA" until organizers announce them. Use the filters below to find what matters to you, and see "Find Events Near You" at the bottom for local options in your own city.
Feb
22
–25
CROI — Conference on Retroviruses & Opportunistic Infections
📍 Denver, CO
The premier annual HIV/AIDS research conference in the world. This is where landmark findings on cure research, long-acting treatment, PrEP, and vaccine development get their first public airing. Running since 1993. Free livestream registration is available for people who can't attend in person.
Feb
TBA
AIDS Walk Orlando
📍 Lake Eola Park, Orlando, FL
One of Central Florida's longest-running HIV fundraisers, organized by Hope & Help Center of Central Florida. Families, teams, and dogs walk a short loop around Lake Eola at the Walt Disney Amphitheater, usually in late February or early March. Over $1 million raised in its history. Check Hope & Help's site for the exact 2026 date.
Mar
16
–18
AIDSWatch 2026
📍 Arlington, VA / Washington, D.C.
The nation's largest constituent-driven HIV federal advocacy event, organized by AIDS United and The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. Theme: "Defending Progress, Demanding Justice." Hundreds of advocates from across the country spend a day walking the halls of Congress together. Travel scholarships available for people living with HIV.
Mar
21
Florida AIDS Walk & Music Festival
📍 Fort Lauderdale Beach Park, FL
Florida's largest HIV fundraising event — a 5K walk followed by a free live music festival on the beach. 21st year, presented by AHF, with Queen Latifah headlining the 2026 festival. Gates open at 8 a.m.; the walk begins at 10 a.m. 100% of funds stay in South Florida.
Mar
TBA
First Coast AIDS Walk
📍 Phillip Randolph Park, Jacksonville, FL
Annual HIV fundraising walk organized by Friends of The Quilt in Jacksonville. A community gathering for Northeast Florida, a region that ranks among the highest nationally for new HIV diagnoses.
Apr
16
Dining Out For Life — Jacksonville
📍 Jacksonville, FL
21st annual event benefiting the NFAN Mary H. Lewis Food Pantry. Dine at a participating restaurant — a percentage of your bill supports HIV care.
Apr
23
Dining Out For Life — Tampa Bay
📍 Tampa Bay, FL
Benefiting EPIC (Empath Partners in Care). Dine at a participating restaurant — a portion of your bill automatically supports HIV services across Tampa Bay.
Apr
25
AIDS Walk Kansas City
📍 Theis Park, Kansas City, MO
38th annual AIDS Walk benefiting HIV services across the Greater Kansas City area.
Apr
21
–23
NaLa — National Latinx Conference on HIV
📍 Dallas, TX
The only major U.S. HIV conference focused on Latinx communities. Community-driven and grassroots. Hispanic/Latino communities account for 32% of new HIV diagnoses nationally.
Apr
24
–26
Center Ride Out
📍 Los Angeles → San Diego, CA
A new 3-day charity cycling event organized by the LA LGBT Center — the successor to AIDS/LifeCycle which raised $349M over 30 years. Inaugural 2026 edition. 100% of funds support HIV services.
Apr
30
–May 2
ACTHIV — American Conference for the Treatment of HIV
📍 Atlanta, GA
The premier U.S. conference for frontline HIV clinicians — physicians, NPs, PAs, pharmacists, and case managers. Running since 2006. CME credits available.
May
17
AIDS Walk New York
📍 Central Park, New York City
41st annual. The world's most visible HIV fundraising walk, benefiting GMHC and dozens of New York HIV organizations. Over $170M raised in its history.
May
29
–31
Cycle to Zero
📍 San Francisco → Guerneville, CA
Built on the 30-year legacy of AIDS/LifeCycle (which ended in 2025), Cycle to Zero is SFAF's new 3-day cycling event through Marin County and the Russian River Valley. Fundraising minimum $2,500.
May
TBA
Strides for Action (Boston)
📍 Boston, MA
Organized by Fenway Health, marking its 40th year in 2026. Originally AIDS Walk Boston, rebranded in 2023 to reflect a broader LGBTQIA+ health equity mission alongside HIV. Still one of New England's longest-running HIV fundraising walks.
Jul
26
–31
AIDS 2026 — International AIDS Conference
📍 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil + Virtual
The world's largest HIV conference. 26th International AIDS Conference, hosted by the International AIDS Society. 7,000–10,000 expected. Virtual access available.
Jun
21
Broadway Bares
📍 Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City
An annual burlesque-style show featuring ~200 Broadway dancers, raising funds for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Created in 1992. The 2025 edition shattered records with $2.45 million raised in a single night. Held during NYC Pride Week.
Jul
19
AIDS Walk San Francisco
📍 Robin Williams Meadow, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA
One of the nation's oldest and largest HIV fundraising walks, marking its 40th anniversary in 2026. Over $96 million raised over the decades for organizations across seven Bay Area counties.
Aug
TBA
Strike Out for AIDS
📍 Tampa & Dunedin, FL
19th year of EPIC's bowling fundraiser — two nights, two cities. Proceeds support HIV case management, meals, housing, and mental health services across Tampa Bay.
Aug
4
–7
National Ryan White Conference on HIV Care & Treatment
📍 Washington, D.C.
Biennial conference organized by HRSA, focused on the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program — the safety net serving 570,000+ people with HIV in the U.S. The 2026 edition marks 35 years of the Ryan White program. Free registration, hybrid format.
Sep
26
AIDS Walk Atlanta & Music Festival
📍 Piedmont Park, Atlanta, GA
34th annual. Produced by AHF, benefiting AID Atlanta and partner organizations. Community walk + music. 80% of funds go directly to HIV services.
Sep
17
–20
USCHA — U.S. Conference on HIV/AIDS
📍 Anaheim, CA
The nation's largest community-focused HIV convening. 30th anniversary. 2,000+ health professionals, advocates, PLHIV, and frontline workers. Hosted by NMAC.
Sep
19
Walk to End HIV — Washington, D.C.
📍 Anacostia Park, Washington, D.C.
40th anniversary edition organized by Whitman-Walker Health. DC has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the nation — over 2% of residents. One of the longest-running HIV walks in the country.
Sep
TBA
AIDS Run & Walk Chicago
📍 Soldier Field, Chicago, IL
Organized by the AIDS Foundation of Chicago since 2001. Features 5K and 10K runs plus a walk along Chicago's lakefront. The CommunityDirect model sends 90% of team-raised funds directly to 25+ partner organizations.
Sep
TBA
AIDS Walk Northwest (Portland)
📍 Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Portland, OR
The longest-running AIDS walk in the Pacific Northwest, organized by Cascade AIDS Project since 1988. Held mid-September at one of Portland's most iconic public spaces.
Sep
TBA
Cycle for the Cause
📍 Boston → New York City
A 3-day cycling journey from Boston to NYC organized by The LGBT Community Center. Running since 1995. Includes a Positive Pedalers program specifically for riders living with HIV.
Oct
23
–25
28th Annual Positive Living Conference
📍 The Island Resort, Fort Walton Beach, FL
The oldest and largest annual gathering of people living with HIV in the United States. 400–450 attendees, 95% PLHIV. Workshops, plenary sessions, Memorial Heart Circle. The 2026 conference includes a celebration of life for founder Butch McKay (1948–2026).
Oct
18
AIDS Walk Los Angeles
📍 West Hollywood Park, Los Angeles, CA
The world's first AIDS walkathon, founded in 1985. Organized by APLA Health at West Hollywood Park each October. Lifetime fundraising approaches $100 million for HIV services across Southern California.
Nov
20
–21
The Joy Ride
📍 Orlando → St. Petersburg, FL
165-mile, 2-day charity cycling event — the spiritual successor to the SMART Ride. 100% of funds go to five nonprofit HIV organizations. In 2025, the event raised $295,127. Cyclists must raise a minimum of $1,250.
Dec
1
–2
AHF World AIDS Day Concert
📍 Watsco Center, Coral Gables (Miami), FL
A major free concert organized by AHF on or around World AIDS Day. Past headliners include Ricky Martin, Diana Ross, Janet Jackson, and Mariah Carey. One of the largest free HIV awareness events in the country.
Dec
1
World AIDS Day
📍 Worldwide
Every December 1st, communities across the world hold events, candlelight vigils, awareness campaigns, and memorials. Events happen in virtually every major US city and thousands of communities globally.
🗺️ Find Events Near You
Dining Out For Life
Hundreds of participating cities. Find restaurants near you:
diningoutforlife.com →
World AIDS Day Events
Vigils, concerts, and awareness events worldwide every Dec 1st:
worldaidsday.org →
HIV.gov Events
Official federal HIV events calendar — observances, webinars, awareness days:
hiv.gov/events →
A note on this list
This is a curated list of well-established recurring events — not a complete directory. There are hundreds of walks, galas, and community events happening in cities across the country every year. Miss yours? Know one we should add? Submit it below and we'll review it for inclusion.
📅 Submit an Event →Coming Up Next
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📅
HIV Awareness Days
From World AIDS Day to National HIV Testing Day, there are more than a dozen dedicated HIV awareness days throughout the year — each one honoring a different community, calling attention to a specific need, or marking a milestone in the response to the epidemic. The callout above always shows whichever one is coming up next. Explore the full calendar below for every date, its history, and simple ways to observe it — including a printable PDF you can post at a clinic, office, or community center.
HIV Awareness Days — Full Calendar
Every awareness date, what it means, its history, and how to observe it — plus a printable PDF calendar you can share or post.
Explore all awareness days →
🌍 National Spotlight
Organizations Leading the Movement
Community & Advocacy
NMAC
Since 1987, NMAC has worked to build power for communities of color hit hardest by HIV — through leadership training, policy work, and hosting USCHA, the country's largest HIV conference.
Visit nmac.org →
HIV Criminalization
Sero Project
A network of people living with HIV working to end HIV criminalization laws and support people prosecuted under them — including leadership based right here in Florida.
Visit seroproject.com →
Women Living with HIV
Positive Women's Network–USA
A national membership body of women living with HIV, organizing for gender and racial justice in HIV policy and building leadership from the ground up.
Visit pwn-usa.org →
Prevention Research
AVAC
A global advocacy organization accelerating access to HIV prevention options — PrEP, vaccines, and long-acting tools — grounded in community voice.
Visit avac.org →
Treatment Access
Treatment Action Group (TAG)
An independent research and policy think tank pushing for a cure, better treatment, and funding for HIV, tuberculosis, and hepatitis C.
Visit treatmentactiongroup.org →
Funding & Access
AIDS United
Grantmaking and advocacy focused on ending the HIV epidemic through community-driven solutions — and the organizer behind AIDSWatch.
Visit aidsunited.org →
Black & LGBTQ+ Communities
National Black Justice Coalition
A civil rights organization dedicated to the freedom of Black LGBTQ+ and same-gender-loving people, with HIV justice as a core pillar of its work.
Visit nbjc.org →
Surveillance & Data
NASTAD
The National Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors represents public health officials working on the HIV and hepatitis epidemics in every state, including Florida.
Visit nastad.org →
🌴 Florida Spotlight
Florida Organizations Worth Knowing
🌴 Fort Lauderdale
Florida AIDS Walk & Music Festival
The state's largest single HIV fundraising event, every March on Fort Lauderdale Beach — a 5K walk plus a free concert, all proceeds staying in South Florida.
Visit floridaaidswalk.org →
🌴 Fort Lauderdale
IDEA Exchange
South Florida's syringe services program — harm reduction, HIV/HCV testing, and linkage to care for people who use drugs, without judgment.
Visit ideaexchangeus.org →
🌴 Statewide
Positive Champions Speakers Bureau
Trains people living with HIV across Florida to share their stories publicly — in schools, clinics, and community settings — to fight stigma through real voices.
Learn more →
🌴 Miami
Center for Positive Connections
Peer support and social connection for people living with HIV in Miami-Dade — groups, activities, and a community that understands.
Learn more →
🌴 Fort Walton Beach
Miracle of Love / Positive Living Conference
Hosts the Positive Living Conference — the oldest and largest annual U.S. gathering of people living with HIV, founded by the late Butch McKay.
Learn more →
🌴 Tampa Bay
Tampa Hillsborough Action Plan (THAN)
Community-based HIV services in Hillsborough County — testing, case management, and housing support for people living with HIV.
Learn more →
🌴 Fort Lauderdale
Broward House
One of Florida's largest HIV service organizations — housing, primary care, behavioral health, and prevention across Broward County.
Visit browardhouse.org →
🌴 St. Petersburg
Metro Wellness & Community Centers
LGBTQ+ and HIV-affirming health and community center serving the Tampa Bay area — testing, PrEP, and support groups.
Visit metrotampabay.org →
🌴 West Palm Beach
Compass Community Center
Palm Beach County's LGBTQ+ community center — support groups, HIV testing, and social services, including grief and chaplaincy support.
Visit compassglcc.com →
🌴 Miami
OASIS Miami & Pridelines
Pridelines is Miami's LGBTQ+ youth organization with a strong HIV prevention focus, serving young people navigating sexual health in South Florida.
Visit pridelines.org →
🌴 Full Florida Community Guide
Walks · Galas · Orgs · Events →
📣
Voices Worth Following
The HIV community has some of the most powerful voices on the internet — advocates, educators, long-term survivors, and newly diagnosed people sharing their lives openly. These are accounts, blogs, and organizations worth your time. National voices first, with a dedicated Florida section below. Follow them, share their content, and let them know they're seen. A note: social platforms and handles change often — if a link is stale, search the name directly.
Handles last verified: August 2026 · If an account has moved or gone quiet, please let us know.
Advocates & Educators
📸 Instagram
Josh Robbins
@imstilljosh
One of the most recognized HIV+ advocates in the US. Honest, funny, real — Josh has been sharing his life with HIV for over a decade and has helped countless people feel less alone.
📸 Instagram
Deondre Moore
@deondre_moore
HIV+ activist and public health advocate focused on Black gay men. Powerful storyteller who centers joy alongside advocacy.
🔗 Multi-platform
The Well Project
@thewellproject
Women and HIV — education, community, and advocacy. A Girl Like Me is their long-running community blog platform where women living with HIV share their own stories in their own words.
📸 Instagram
Rae Lewis-Thornton
@raelewisthornton
Longtime HIV+ activist and author. Diagnosed in 1987, she's been speaking publicly since 1994 and remains one of the most important voices in HIV advocacy — especially for Black women.
🎵 TikTok
HIV Positive University
@hivpositiveuniversity
Short-form HIV education content that's approachable, stigma-free, and actually watchable. Great for sharing with someone newly diagnosed.
📸 Instagram
Mark S. King
@marksking
Diagnosed in 1985. Award-winning author of A Place Like This and blogger at My Fabulous Disease. One of the most eloquent voices on long-term survival, aging, and HIV history.
📸 Instagram
Maria "HIV" Mejia
@mariahivmejia
Colombian-born, Fort Lauderdale-based long-term survivor — living with HIV for 37 years. Global Ambassador for The Well Project. U=U Ambassador, CDC Ambassador, and co-author of From a Warrior's Passion and Pain. 75K+ followers.
▶️ YouTube / Instagram
Jennifer Vaughan
@jennifervaughan_hiv
Single mom of three who went from an AIDS diagnosis to undetectable — and then went public. Shares daily life with HIV with honesty and warmth. Her story resonates especially with straight women who never expected an HIV diagnosis.
🔗 Multi-platform
D-REK's Angels & Warriors
angelsandwarriors.org
Founded by Derek Canas, who contracted HIV at 3 months old through a blood transfusion and wasn't diagnosed until nearly dying at 16. Advocates specifically for heterosexual people living with HIV — a community that remains largely invisible in the advocacy space.
🔗 Multi-platform
George M. Johnson
@iamgmjohnson
Award-winning Black, queer journalist and author of All Boys Aren't Blue. Posts on HIV, gender, race, and LGBTQ+ health with clarity and heart.
📸 Instagram
Guy Anthony
Founder, Black, Gifted & Whole
HIV advocate and founder of a nonprofit supporting Black LGBTQ+ people's mental health and HIV wellness. Speaks openly about recovery, faith, and living openly with HIV.
🔗 Multi-platform
Aaron Laxton
@AaronLaxton
Social worker and longtime HIV advocate known for his early video-blogging on life with HIV. Posts on treatment access and social work perspectives on HIV care.
🔗 Multi-platform
Peter Staley
ACT UP veteran & author
Legendary AIDS activist from the ACT UP era, author of Nothing Personal, and subject of the documentary How to Survive a Plague. Still writes and speaks on treatment activism and HIV history.
🔗 Multi-platform
Sean Strub
Founder, POZ Magazine & Sero Project
Founder of POZ Magazine and a co-founder of the Sero Project. A leading voice on HIV criminalization reform and long-term survivor issues for decades.
🔗 Multi-platform
Charles Sanchez
@merceofny
Performs as "Merce" — musical comedy videos on HIV, dating, and long-term survival that make hard topics feel lighter without losing the truth.
🔗 Multi-platform
Prevention Access Campaign (PACHA)
@prep4allnow / Bruce Richman
Bruce Richman leads the U=U campaign and posts on federal HIV policy through his work with the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA).
🔗 Multi-platform
Prep4All
@prep4allnow
Advocacy organization pushing for universal, free access to PrEP and long-acting prevention tools in the U.S. Posts on policy fights affecting access.
🔗 Multi-platform
BLKHLTH
@blkhlth
A Black-led public health collective creating culturally relevant HIV, sexual health, and wellness content for Black communities.
🔗 Multi-platform
TransLatin@ Coalition
@translatinacoalition
National organization centering trans Latina and Latin American immigrant experiences, with HIV prevention and care as a core focus area.
🧡 Long-Term Survivors & Aging with HIV
More than half of all Americans living with HIV are now over 50. Long-term survivors face a distinct set of challenges: survivor's guilt, trauma, social isolation, and a healthcare system still learning how to care for an aging HIV population. These organizations exist specifically for them.
🔗 Organization
NMAC HIV 50+ Initiative
NMAC runs a dedicated HIV 50+ Initiative focused on the needs of older adults living with HIV. Resources include peer support, advocacy tools, and programming specifically designed for long-term survivors.
🔗 Organization
Long-Term Survivors Alliance (LTSA)
Founded by and for long-term survivors of HIV, LTSA is a grassroots organization dedicated to improving quality of life for people who have been living with HIV for decades — advocating for trauma-informed care, mental health resources, and recognition of unique challenges.
Prevention & Sexual Health
🔗 Multi-platform
GMHC
@gmhc
Gay Men's Health Crisis — the world's first HIV/AIDS service organization, founded 1982. Still on the frontlines with prevention, care, and advocacy content.
📸 Instagram
Prevention Access Campaign
@preventionaccess
The home of U=U — Undetectable = Untransmittable. The campaign that changed the conversation around HIV transmission and stigma worldwide.
🌴 Florida Voices
🔗 Multi-platform
Kamaria Laffrey
Co-Executive Director, Sero Project
Winter Haven-based advocate living with HIV since 2003. Leads national work at the Sero Project while serving on Florida's HIV Justice Coalition and the West Central Florida Ryan White Care Council — and founded emPOWERed Legacies to mentor the next generation of advocates.
🔗 Multi-platform
Michael Rajner
Fort Lauderdale advocate
HIV/AIDS advocate since 1995 and Ryan White program client who has spent years pushing Tallahassee to protect ADAP funding. His 2026 testimony to the Florida Senate helped secure $30.9 million to keep HIV medication access intact for thousands of Floridians.
📸 Instagram
RiseUpToHIV
@riseuptohiv
That's us — Florida-based HIV education, resources, and advocacy built by a person living with HIV. Follow for updates, resources, and community.
🔗 Facebook
RiseUpToHIV on Facebook
facebook.com/riseuptohiv
The Facebook page behind RiseUpToHIV — a dedicated following built through peer-to-peer HIV advocacy over more than a decade. Real talk, no spin, from someone living with HIV for 16+ years.
🔗 Multi-platform
CAN Community Health
@cancommunityhealth
Florida-based HIV healthcare provider with clinics across the state. Regular education content, community events, and patient resources.
🔗 Multi-platform
Pridelines
@pridelinesyouth
Miami-based LGBTQ+ youth organization with a strong HIV prevention and community focus. Excellent content for young people navigating sexual health in South Florida.
💛 Dating & Connection
One of the most isolating things about an HIV diagnosis is the fear that dating is over. It isn't — and with U=U, an undetectable viral load means zero risk of sexually transmitting HIV to a partner (CDC). These communities exist specifically to connect people living with HIV with each other, and with partners who already understand — for friendship, dating, and love.
🔗 Web
POZ Personals
personals.poz.com
The most established HIV-positive dating and social community on the internet — 150,000+ members, free to join, for men and women of all orientations. Part of the POZ Magazine family since 1994.
🔗 Web
Positive Singles
positivesingles.com
One of the largest dating communities for people living with HIV and other STIs, with free basic membership, mobile apps, and active forums for support alongside dating.
🔗 App
Hzone
hzone.com
A mobile dating app built specifically for people living with HIV, with a global user base. Free to download, with privacy-first design so you control what you share and when.
🔗 Local
Florida Peer Support & Dating Circles
Ask your local AIDS service organization
Many Florida HIV service organizations — including Broward House and Metro Wellness — host in-person social and peer support groups where dating and relationships come up naturally, without the pressure of an app profile. Ask your case manager what's meeting near you.
🌟 Have a story, check-in, or memory to share? Voices Rising is our moderated community wall — a space for people living with HIV, caregivers, and allies to leave a check-in, share a micro-blog, tell a story, drop a helpful link, or honor someone we lost. Every post is reviewed by a human before it appears. Anonymous is fine.
Visit Voices Rising → · Community guidelines → · Take the Community Pledge →
Visit Voices Rising → · Community guidelines → · Take the Community Pledge →
Know a voice we should add?
Share an Instagram, TikTok, podcast, or YouTube channel worth following — FL or national.
📣 Suggest a Voice
💗
For Loved Ones & Allies
HIV touches more people than the person with the diagnosis. Partners, parents, siblings, friends, coworkers — everyone finds out something they didn't know about the virus, and about themselves. This section is for you. What to say, what not to say, and how to actually show up.
💬 What helps to say
- "I love you. This doesn't change anything between us."
- "How are you feeling today?"
- "Can I go with you to your appointment?"
- "What do you want me to know? What do you not want to talk about right now?"
- "I'm going to learn more so you don't have to explain everything."
🚫 What to skip
- "How did you get it?" — Not your business unless they offer.
- "Are you being careful?" — Insulting. They know more about HIV than you do.
- "So you can't have sex or kids anymore?" — Wrong. U=U means yes to both.
- The pity face. They are not dying. They have a manageable, treatable condition.
- Telling other people without permission. Ever.
Resources Built for You
Resources written specifically for the loved ones of women and families affected by HIV — plain language, no jargon, built for people who are learning as they go.
Search POZ.com for "loved ones" and "partners" to find first-person essays and practical guidance from people who have supported someone through diagnosis and beyond.
The clearest explanation of Undetectable=Untransmittable available — useful for understanding exactly why your partner's HIV status doesn't have to change your relationship or family plans.
Family Counseling Through Ryan White Clinics
Many Ryan White-funded clinics offer family counseling free of charge, for partners, parents, and children processing a loved one's diagnosis. Call the clinic directly and ask what's available.
🌴 Florida — Compass Community Center & Metro Wellness
Compass Community Center in West Palm Beach and Metro Wellness in St. Petersburg both run family and partner support groups. Contact them directly for current schedules.
The best thing you can do is treat the person you love like the same person they were the day before their diagnosis. Because they are.
💞 For Mixed-Status Couples
One partner living with HIV, one who is HIV-negative — often called a mixed-status couple. Millions of couples live this way. With modern treatment, a mixed-status relationship can be everything any other relationship is: intimate, sexual, long-term, and family-building. The science is unambiguous.
✅ What the science says
- U=U is real. A partner on effective HIV treatment with a sustained undetectable viral load cannot sexually transmit HIV. Zero linked transmissions across the PARTNER2 study of nearly 77,000 condomless sex acts.
- PrEP is an added option. The HIV-negative partner can take PrEP as a second layer of protection or peace of mind — not because U=U isn't enough, but because layered options are always your right.
- You can have biological children. Conception is safe when the partner living with HIV is undetectable. Talk to an HIV-informed OB-GYN.
- Serodifferent, serodiscordant, magnetic, mixed-status — you'll hear all these terms. They all describe the same thing.
💜 What helps day-to-day
- Learn U=U together. The negative partner carrying stigma quietly is a common relationship strain.
- Go to at least one HIV clinic visit together, if the partner living with HIV is open to it.
- Talk openly about disclosure — who knows, who doesn't, and who decides.
- Couples counseling with an HIV-informed therapist can help through the first year. Ryan White clinics often cover this.
- Both of you deserve support. The negative partner is allowed to have feelings too — and needs an outlet that isn't the partner living with HIV.
The clearest, most-cited explanation of Undetectable=Untransmittable, with resources built for couples navigating the science together.
First-person essays and Q&As from mixed-status couples on dating, disclosure, sex, marriage, and parenting. Community voice; anchor any medical questions to a clinician.
Official guidance on treatment as prevention, PrEP for the negative partner, and safe conception options for mixed-status couples who want biological children.
🌴 Florida — Couples Counseling Through Ryan White
Many Florida Ryan White clinics offer no-cost couples counseling with HIV-informed therapists. Ask your clinic, or use the Florida Care Locator to find one nearby.
Mixed-status doesn't mean uneven. It means two whole people, building a life together, with better information than any generation before them.
🤝
Support Groups & Peer Networks
Talking with other people who really get it — not just clinically, but personally — helps in a way that nothing else does. Peer support is linked to better mental health and better engagement in HIV care (CDC). Whether you were diagnosed yesterday or decades ago, there's a group for you — in person or online.
💬 Online & National Peer Support
🔗 Forum
POZ Forums
One of the oldest and largest online communities for people living with HIV — discussion boards for newly diagnosed people, long-term survivors, dating, treatment questions, and just talking to someone who understands.
🔗 App & Groups
Positive Peers
A free mobile app and peer support network built for young adults living with HIV, connecting members with mentors, resources, and each other in a private, judgment-free space.
🔗 Organization
The Well Project — A Girl Like Me
An online community built specifically for women living with HIV — blogs, forums, and resources centered on the realities of being a woman with HIV, from diagnosis through aging.
🔗 Organization
Sero Project Peer Network
Connects people living with HIV — especially those affected by HIV criminalization laws — with peers, know-your-rights resources, and a community that has been through it.
🌴 Florida In-Person Support Groups
🔗 Speakers Bureau
Positive Champions Speakers Bureau
Beyond public speaking training, this Florida network functions as a peer community — people living with HIV supporting each other while sharing their stories statewide.
🔗 Center
Center for Positive Connections
Miami, FL
Support groups and social activities designed specifically for people living with HIV in Miami-Dade — a place to build friendships beyond a clinic waiting room.
🔗 Center
Broward House
Runs regular support groups alongside housing and medical care — including groups for women, long-term survivors, and people newly diagnosed.
🔗 Center
Metro Wellness & Community Centers
Tampa Bay-area support groups for people living with HIV, alongside LGBTQ+ community programming and behavioral health services.
Can't find a group near you? Call the Florida HIV/AIDS Hotline at 1-800-352-2437 — they can connect you to a support group in your county.
🕊️
Faith & Spiritual Communities
Faith is complicated for a lot of people living with HIV. Some found their faith community a source of comfort; others were rejected by the very community they hoped would hold them. We're not here to tell you what to believe or to endorse any one tradition — only to point you toward faith communities that are explicitly, publicly welcoming to people living with HIV, in case that kind of support matters to you.
✨ Welcoming Faith Communities
🔗 Organization
The Balm In Gilead
Works with Black churches and faith leaders nationwide on HIV education and health equity — built on the idea that the Black church can be part of the solution, not the stigma.
🔗 Denomination
Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC)
A global Christian denomination founded with LGBTQ+ inclusion at its core, with a long history of HIV/AIDS ministry dating back to the earliest years of the epidemic. Congregations across Florida.
🔗 Denomination
Unitarian Universalist Association
A faith tradition with a long-standing, explicit commitment to LGBTQ+ inclusion and HIV/AIDS justice work, with congregations across the country, including Florida.
🔗 Organization
Many Voices (MPV)
Works within Black churches and faith communities to build LGBTQ+ and HIV-affirming spaces, training clergy and lay leaders to talk openly about HIV without shame.
🔗 Organization
Keshet
Works for the full equality of LGBTQ+ Jews in Jewish life, including education on HIV stigma within Jewish communities and institutions.
🔗 Organization
TransFaith
Supports trans and gender-expansive people of faith across traditions, with resources that address the intersection of gender, spirituality, and HIV-related stigma.
If a faith community ever made you feel shame about your status, that was about their limitations — not the truth about your worth. You're allowed to seek out spaces that don't ask you to hide.
🎓
Youth & Young Adults
Young people ages 13–24 make up a growing share of new HIV diagnoses in the U.S., especially among Black and Latino youth and LGBTQ+ young people (CDC). These resources meet you where you are — free, confidential, and often anonymous. You can get tested, get PrEP, and get support without a parent's permission in most states, including Florida.
📱
Positive Peers app
A free HIV app built for people living with HIV ages 13–34 — peer support, mental health tools, and treatment tracking, all in one private place.
📚
Advocates for Youth
National organization focused on HIV prevention, sex education, and policy advocacy built by and for young people.
🌈
The Trevor Project
24/7 crisis support for LGBTQ+ young people. Call 1-866-488-7386 or text START to 678-678, any time, day or night.
🏫
GLSEN
Works on LGBTQ+ students' safety and inclusion in schools nationwide — including help starting a Gender & Sexuality Alliance (GSA) if your school doesn't have one.
🩺
Youth-serving clinics
Planned Parenthood, community health centers, and school-based health clinics offer confidential HIV testing, PrEP, and care — often at no cost to you.
Ask about confidential youth services →
💊
PrEP at 15+
Most states, including Florida, allow young people 15 and older to start PrEP without parental consent. Ask any Ryan White clinic or Planned Parenthood location.
Learn more on our prevention page →
🌴 Florida Youth Resources
🔗 Youth Program
Metro Inclusive Health — Youth Programs
Tampa & St. Petersburg, FL
LGBTQ+ and HIV youth programming in the Tampa Bay area, including testing, PrEP navigation, and peer groups for young people.
🔗 Youth Program
Compass Youth
West Palm Beach, FL
Youth-focused programming through Compass Community Center — social support, education, and connection for LGBTQ+ young people in Palm Beach County.
🔗 Youth Outreach
Center for Positive Connections — Youth Outreach
Miami, FL
Youth-specific outreach and peer support from Miami-Dade's dedicated HIV community center.
🔗 Youth Program
Pridelines Youth Programs
pridelines.org · Miami, FL
LGBTQ+ youth organization with a strong HIV prevention and community focus, built specifically for young people navigating sexual health in South Florida.
Florida allows minors 13 and older to consent to HIV/STI testing and treatment without parental permission.
Your medical information is protected by HIPAA. Clinics that specialize in youth care will not tell your parents unless you say it's okay. If you're in Florida and unsure, ask directly: "Will my parents see this on their insurance?" — you have the right to know before you're seen.
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🏳️⚧️
Trans & Nonbinary Community
Trans and nonbinary people, especially trans women of color, face some of the highest HIV rates in the country — driven by stigma, housing instability, and barriers to affirming healthcare, not by anything about being trans (CDC). These resources center trans leadership and offer care that will not require you to explain yourself.
Support, advocacy, and services for trans Latina women, many living with HIV. Based in Los Angeles with national reach.
Funds trans-led grassroots organizations across the U.S., including groups doing HIV prevention and care work in their own communities.
NYC-based, nationally recognized model for LGBTQ+ and HIV care, with decades of experience serving trans patients with dignity.
Resources for trans people navigating faith communities, including the intersection of gender, spirituality, and HIV-related stigma.
Policy, advocacy, and know-your-rights resources for trans people, including healthcare access issues that intersect with HIV care.
Trans-specific HIV information written by and for trans people — covering hormone therapy interactions, disclosure, and affirming care.
🌴 Florida Trans-Affirming Resources
🔗 Health Center
SPEKTRUM Health
spektrumhealth.com · Orlando, FL
LGBTQ+ and HIV care with trans-affirming services, built specifically for the community it serves.
🔗 Health Center
Metro Inclusive Health — Trans Health Program
metrotampabay.org · Tampa/St. Pete, FL
Trans health program includes hormone therapy alongside HIV care, coordinated in one place.
🔗 Center
Compass Community Center
West Palm Beach, FL
Trans support groups and social programming alongside broader LGBTQ+ community services.
🔗 Center
Pridelines
pridelines.org · Miami, FL
Trans-inclusive youth and adult programming, with community events and peer support.
🔗 Directory
WPATH Provider Directory
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health lists trans-affirming primary care providers by state, including Florida.
If a provider misgenders you, refuses affirming care, or treats you badly — that is a provider problem, not a you problem. You deserve care that sees all of you. Please reach out to any of the above; they can help you find someone who will.
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💪
Get Involved
You don't have to be living with HIV to show up for this community. Here are six meaningful things you can do right now.
🚶
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Walk or Ride
Register for a charity walk or cycling event. You don't have to be an athlete — you just have to care enough to show up and fundraise.
See the 2026 calendar →
🙌
Volunteer in Florida
Every event, clinic, and organization on this page needs volunteers. Setup, outreach, speaking, water stations — your time matters. Find Florida HIV volunteer opportunities now.
Find Florida opportunities →
⚖️
Advocate
Contact your legislators about ADAP, PEPFAR, Ryan White, and HIV criminalization. It takes 5 minutes. It genuinely makes a difference.
Take action now →
💛
Donate
Can't attend an event? Donate directly to a beneficiary organization. Most are 501(c)(3) nonprofits — your donation is tax-deductible and stays local.
See beneficiary organizations →
🧪
Get Tested
Knowing your status is the single most important thing you can do for your own health and your community. Free testing is available nationwide — and across all 67 Florida counties.
Find a testing site near you →
🏛️
Testify at Your State Legislature
State lawmakers write the HIV criminalization laws, ADAP budgets, and funding bills that shape daily life for people living with HIV. In 2026, Florida advocates helped secure $30.9 million in HB 697 funding by showing up and testifying in Tallahassee. Texas and other states are weighing HIV criminal law reform right now. The Sero Project can help you find the bill that affects you and prepare to speak.
Find your state's bills →
📰
Media, News & Podcasts
The HIV community has a rich media landscape — publications, podcasts, and news sources that have covered this epidemic for decades. Some are national, some are global, and some are built and edited by people living with HIV. If you want to keep up week to week, bookmark two or three of these and let the rest come to you.
📰 Publication
POZ Magazine
Flagship HIV publication covering treatment news, personal stories, advocacy, and policy — in print and online since 1994.
Visit poz.com →
✍️ Community Voice
My Fabulous Disease
Award-winning blog by Mark S. King — a 40-year HIV survivor, journalist, and activist writing with wit, honesty, and heart.
Visit marksking.com →
🎙️ Podcast
Going Anti-Viral
In-depth conversations with leading HIV researchers and clinicians — produced by IAS-USA, hosted by Dr. Michael Saag.
Listen now →
🎙️ Podcast
HIV Unmuted
A podcast centering Black voices in the HIV response — candid conversations on stigma, science, and survival from TheBody and TheBodyPro.
Listen now →
📰 Publication
Positively Aware
A treatment-focused magazine published by TPAN (Chicago), known for its detailed, plain-language HIV drug guide and frank reporting on the state of care.
Visit positivelyaware.com →
✍️ Community Voice
A Girl Like Me
The Well Project's blog and video series by and for women living with HIV — real stories about motherhood, dating, aging, and advocacy.
Visit thewellproject.org →
🎙️ Podcast
ImStillJosh
Josh Robbins' long-running video blog and podcast on life, dating, and advocacy as a person living with HIV — honest, funny, and unafraid of hard topics.
Visit imstilljosh.com →
🎥 YouTube
Merce (Charles Sanchez)
Musical comedy videos about HIV, dating, and long-term survival — proof that humor and hard truths can live in the same three minutes.
Watch on YouTube →
📰 Organization & Media
Black AIDS Institute
The only national HIV/AIDS think tank focused exclusively on Black communities — research, reporting, and policy analysis grounded in Black health equity.
Visit blackaids.org →
📰 Publication
TheBody
One of the longest-running HIV information sites — patient-facing news, treatment explainers, and personal essays. Companion site TheBodyPro serves clinicians and case managers.
Visit thebody.com →
📰 Publication
The Well Project
Women-centered HIV information, plain-language treatment guides, and the A Girl Like Me blog network — stories in women’s own words.
Visit thewellproject.org →
🌍 Global News
aidsmap / NAM
UK-based, globally read HIV news source — clear reporting on treatment, prevention, and conference science. Their daily bulletins are how many advocates keep up.
Visit aidsmap.com →
📰 Health Journalism
KFF Health News — HIV/AIDS
Investigative and policy reporting on U.S. HIV response, ADAP, Medicaid, PEPFAR, and rural care — independent, non-partisan, and free to republish.
Read HIV coverage →
🌍 Global News
POZ Planet
POZ Magazine’s international news section — global HIV research, treatment access, and policy stories curated for community readers.
Read POZ Planet →
✍️ Community Voice
Positive Peers
Youth-led HIV storytelling and peer navigation project from MetroHealth (Cleveland) — short videos and blog posts by young people living with HIV.
Visit positivepeers.org →
📰 Newsroom
BAI News
Black AIDS Institute’s in-house news arm — policy analysis, Black health equity reporting, and coverage of federal HIV decisions from a Black-led perspective.
Read BAI News →
🌍 Global Health
Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism
South Africa’s leading health journalism outlet — essential reading on the global HIV response, PEPFAR impact, and Southern African community organizing.
Read Bhekisisa →
🥼 Clinical News
IAS-USA News
International Antiviral Society-USA — physician-facing but community-relevant news on HIV treatment guidelines, drug interactions, and clinical practice.
Read IAS-USA →
🎙️ Podcast
Blindspot: The Plague in the Shadows
HISTORY / WNYC Studios podcast series revisiting the early HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York — investigative history, community voices, and the fight for research funding.
Listen on Spotify →
Full Learning Hub
150+ HIV Deep Dives — Learning Hub
Every explainer we’ve published — medications, history, policy, community, aging, and living well — grouped by topic and updated as the science moves.
Explore the Learning Hub →
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📚
Books & Long Reads
The HIV story has been carried by writers as much as by clinicians. A short shelf worth building at home — memoirs, movement history, and the practical books that changed how we talk about intimacy, substance use, and long-term survival. Purchase links go to bookshop.org (supports independent booksellers) or the author’s own site.
📖 Fiction
The Great Believers — Rebecca Makkai
A Pulitzer finalist that follows a chosen family in 1980s Chicago and the survivors decades later — one of the most compassionate HIV novels of this century.
Bookshop.org →
📖 History
And the Band Played On — Randy Shilts
The foundational investigative history of the U.S. AIDS crisis — flawed on the “Patient Zero” framing (see our exoneration piece at patient-zero.html) but still essential reading on federal silence and community response.
Bookshop.org →
📖 Memoir
Body Counts — Sean Strub
Founder of POZ Magazine and the Sero Project traces four decades of AIDS activism, criminalization work, and long-term survival — candid, funny, and unsparing.
Bookshop.org →
📖 Oral History
Let the Record Show — Sarah Schulman
A 700-page political history of ACT UP New York built from the ACT UP Oral History Project — the definitive record of how a movement forced treatment.
Bookshop.org →
📖 Memoir
When We Rise — Cleve Jones
Memoir by the founder of the AIDS Memorial Quilt — from Harvey Milk’s office through the Quilt’s first display on the National Mall.
Bookshop.org →
📖 History
How to Survive a Plague — David France
The companion book to the Oscar-nominated documentary — an insider account of the treatment activism that turned HIV from a death sentence into a chronic condition.
Bookshop.org →
📖 Practical / Recovery (2015)
Lust, Men, and Meth — David Fawcett, PhD
Fort Lauderdale-based therapist David Fawcett’s foundational guide to chemsex, methamphetamine, and gay men — written with clinical rigor and lived compassion. Foreword by HIV writer Mark S. King. Widely used in Crystal Meth Anonymous rooms and clinical practice.
Buy on Amazon →
📖 Practical / Recovery (2024)
Sex Under the Influence — David Fawcett, PhD
Fawcett’s 2024 follow-up expands the frame beyond gay men to everyone caught in sexualized drug use — straight men, women, trans people, and mixed patterns involving GHB, cocaine, ecstasy, and high-potency cannabis. Names it “paired substance/sex addiction” and explains why treating the drug without the sexual behavior drives relapse.
Buy on Amazon →
✍️ Author & Clinician
Dr. David Fawcett — companion resources
Ongoing writing on chemsex recovery, PLHIV mental health, and intimacy after long-term survival — including free articles, workshops, and podcast appearances. TheBody has also reviewed Sex Under the Influence.
Visit david-fawcett.com →
📖 Origin Science
Tinderbox — Craig Timberg & Daniel Halperin
A ground-level history of HIV’s emergence from Central Africa — essential context for anyone thinking about the global HIV response.
Bookshop.org →
📖 Drama
The Normal Heart — Larry Kramer
Kramer’s 1985 play about the birth of GMHC and the fury that founded ACT UP — still the sharpest single dramatic account of the early years. See our Larry Kramer tribute at larry-kramer.html.
Bookshop.org →
Reading and can’t afford a book right now? Every book above is available through most U.S. public library systems — request via Open Library or your local branch’s interlibrary loan. Libraries are one of the last places in America that stock this shelf side by side.
🏆
Community Awards & Recognition
Every year, a handful of honors recognize the people and organizations doing the hardest, least-celebrated work in the HIV response. Nominating someone — or just knowing these lists exist — is one small way to make sure their work doesn't go unnoticed.
🌟 Annual List
POZ 100
POZ Magazine's annual list honoring people living with HIV who are changing the conversation — through advocacy, art, science, or simply living openly. A different theme each year.
🏆 Award
amfAR Awards & Galas
The Foundation for AIDS Research recognizes researchers, philanthropists, and advocates at its annual galas in Palm Beach, Cannes, and Venice — while funding the research that makes long-term survival and cure research possible.
🏆 Media Award
GLAAD Media Awards
GLAAD's annual media awards include categories recognizing fair, accurate, and inclusive coverage of HIV and LGBTQ+ issues across film, TV, and journalism.
🌴 Florida
Florida Community Nominations
Nominate via this site
Know a Florida advocate, caregiver, or organization who deserves recognition? Nominate them for our Community Spotlight — we highlight people doing this work without waiting for a national stage.
Know someone who deserves recognition?
Nominate a local advocate, caregiver, or organization for our Community Spotlight.
🌟 Nominate Someone
🕯️
Memorial & Legacy
Remembering Butch McKay (1948–2026)
In Memoriam · January 30, 2026
Butch McKay — Founder, Positive Living Conference
Butch McKay was an HIV-negative man who gave 30 years of his life to the HIV community — not because it was his fight, but because he believed no one should be left behind, shamed, or forgotten. He grew up in Fairfield, Alabama, came to HIV advocacy in 1994, and became executive director of OASIS Florida in 1996. The following year, he founded the Positive Living Conference, building it into the nation's premier gathering of people living with HIV through nothing more than unconditional love and relentless showing up.
"Often in caring for people, I felt they were the ones caring for me more times than not. They taught me the meaning of unconditional love."
He traveled to Africa to deliver medical supplies, was invited to the White House for the unveiling of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, and trained a generation of HIV advocates. He passed away peacefully on January 30, 2026, at 77, at his home in Panama City Beach. The 2026 Positive Living Conference will include a celebration of life open to the public.
Remembering Hydeia Broadbent (1984–2024)
In Memoriam · February 20, 2024
Hydeia Broadbent — Lifelong HIV Advocate
Hydeia Broadbent was born June 14, 1984, in Las Vegas, and acquired HIV from her mother before birth, at a time when a positive diagnosis in infancy was often treated as a death sentence. She started speaking publicly about living with HIV as a young child in the early 1990s, appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show and alongside Magic Johnson, and never stopped — spending the rest of her life pushing back against the idea that HIV should be anyone's shameful secret, especially within Black communities.
She died on February 20, 2024, in Las Vegas, at age 39 (NPR, New York Times). Her decades of advocacy showed generations of newly diagnosed people, especially children and young Black women, that a life with HIV could still be a full, loud, public life.
🧵 AIDS Memorial Quilt
The AIDS Memorial Quilt is the largest community art project in history — nearly 50,000 panels honoring more than 110,000 individuals lost to AIDS. Florida organizations including the World AIDS Museum, Florida Atlantic University, and others regularly host Quilt displays.
Search all 50,000 panels online at aidsmemorial.org/interactive-aids-quilt — search by name to find a friend or loved one. To make a panel or host a display in Florida, visit aidsmemorial.org.
To learn more about the people and moments that shaped this epidemic — from the earliest years to today — visit our AIDS Media & History guide.
Back to navigation🌴 Florida At a Glance
If You're in Florida, Start Here
Florida AIDS Walk & Music Festival
March 21, 2026 · Fort Lauderdale Beach Park. The state's biggest HIV fundraiser, with a free concert headlined by Queen Latifah. floridaaidswalk.org
Positive Champions Speakers Bureau
A statewide network of people living with HIV sharing their stories to fight stigma. positivechampionsspeakersbureau.org
Nearest Big-City HIV Organizations
Miami & Fort Lauderdale: Broward House · Tampa/St. Pete: Metro Wellness · West Palm Beach: Compass Community Center · Orlando: Hope & Help Center · Jacksonville: check the Florida Care Locator.
Full Florida Care Locator
Every HIV clinic, testing site, housing program, and legal aid resource across all 67 Florida counties. See the locator →
📞 Florida HIV/AIDS Hotline: 1-800-352-2437
Also available in Spanish (1-800-545-7432) and Haitian Creole (1-800-243-7101). Mon–Fri 8am–9pm, Sat 10:30am–6:30pm ET. Text FLHIV to 898211.
About this guide: The voices, events, organizations, and resources listed on this page are independently curated by RiseUpToHIV as a community service. Inclusion does not constitute an endorsement, and RiseUpToHIV is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or responsible for any individual, organization, event, or platform listed here. We do not verify the content of external accounts or websites, and listings may change without notice. If you encounter outdated information or would like to suggest an addition, email [email protected]. This is not medical, legal, or financial advice.