PHOENIX — The impacts of being "Positively You" are undeniable, meaningful, and powerful to people who are ambassadors for the program - like Christopher Dozier.
Dozier is using his HIV diagnosis to educate people in the Valley while hoping to be a beacon of light for people suffering in the shadows.
He's one of the people who is part of the Positively You campaign, launched by the Maricopa County Public Health Department in 2021. The goal is to connect people with free or low-cost resources under the Ryan White Program and to help end the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS.
More than a dozen videos from people living with HIV are posted on the campaign's website, discussing their personal and brave journey. It's an effort to make it a little easier for the next person.
"Make yourself a priority. Whether it be in your work, whether it be in your home, whether it be wherever you are, and you get to a point where you don't give a flying fat monkey what people think and you just live your life," said Dozier, in his video posted to the Positively You website.
Dozier says he's been living with HIV since 2009 and wants to impact and save lives.
"I do, I really do believe we are saving lives," said Dozier. "I believe there is someone out here who is hearing all of our stories because literally, my story is not the same as another ambassador on the panel. I don't look the same as another ambassador on the panel, and because we are all different, there is someone out there who can see themselves and I think that is strong, that is powerful, and that is meaningful."
Since it launched, Maricopa County Public Health officials say the Positively You campaign is directly responsible for linking more than 300 people to the Ryan White Program, which helps roughly 4,000 people in Maricopa and Pinal counties.
To learn more about Positively You, click here.
Positively You will also have a booth set up at the Phoenix Pride Festival this weekend at Steele Indian School Park. To learn more, head to PhoenixPride.org
