Ivonne Moreno found out she was HIV positive in 1998.
Millions of people across the world will light a candle tonight to commemorate a
killer.
HIV and AIDS affects almost 40 million people across the world. The state health
department said almost 140,000 Floridians know they're infected and thousands
more are, but don't know.
Ivonne Moreno is HIV positive.
"We're not dying, we're just living with it," Moreno said.
She got infected in 1998 from her husband.
"He knew, but I didn't know back then," Moreno said.
The Florida Department of Health said Hispanic women are three times more likely
to contract HIV than white women, and cultural barriers are to blame.
"It's not that a Hispanic woman biologically is more capable of contracting HIV,
it's how does she have those discussions with her partner?" Friends Together
founder Cathy Robinson said.
Like many Hispanics, Moreno lived with her secret for years. But on World AIDS
Day, she wants the world to know she is positive.
"They have to deal with all that illness on their own and I need to let them
know that they're not alone," Moreno said.
Moreno is working with the Lakeland-based organization, Friends Together, to
spread a message of health and safety.
"Our theme is today is World AIDS Day, what are we going to do about it
tomorrow?" Robinson said.
Moreno said she knows what she's going to do. Her husband lost his battle with
AIDS in January, but she's staying strong by taking her medication daily and
talking to others, especially those in the Hispanic community.
"They need to open their eyes," Moreno said. "This is real."
Robinson said Moreno's message is one people should take to heart.
"By meeting people that look like Ivonne and look like myself, like everyday
people, people begin to see that truly this is a disease that affects everyone,"
Robinson said.
Friends Together is inviting the community to an HIV and AIDS memorial tonight
at the Florida Southern College campus at 6:30.
People can get a free HIV test on the campus until 2 p.m. today and at most
public health departments across the Bay area throughout the day.
