Picture A Day with HIV

CHICAGO, Aug. 26, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On one day, Tuesday, September 9, Positively Aware and TPAN are inviting everyone around the world, regardless of HIV status, to get in the picture and participate in A Day with HIV, the magazine's fifth annual anti-stigma photo campaign. On 9/9/2014 people across the world, whether HIV-positive or negative, will visually capture and share a moment of their day – A Day with HIV – to focus attention on what it means to live in a world with HIV.

With more than 1.1 million people living with HIV in the United States alone, and about 50,000 new HIV infections each year, the threads of the disease are pervasive in every society. So too is the unwavering stigma, stereotypes, and shame that are too often associated with HIV in day-to-day life.

Each year over the past four years, A Day with HIV has established a single day in which people from all walks of life grab their smartphones or digital cameras and capture a moment of their day that tells their story.

Participants can record a portrait, time with friends and family at work or play, or any moment in the day that helps the world better understand how HIV affects their lives. This powerful digital photo initiative gives individuals an opportunity to create and experience the power of real-life storytelling through images, and unite in the effort to address stigma and contribute to changing perceptions around HIV.

This year, in an effort to extend its A Day with HIV virtual photo sharing initiative, Positively Aware and TPAN are working in partnership with Let's Stop HIV Together, an HIV awareness and anti-stigma effort of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"With parallel goals aimed at raising general HIV awareness and addressing the often-associated stigma, it was really a natural fit for these two campaigns to join forces," said Jeff Berry, Editor of Positively Aware. "By coming together, we are building an even larger community of support and ensuring that we reach each and every corner of society, particularly those people who may not have otherwise experienced the power of the virtual campaign."

The stigma associated with HIV can be reduced by becoming a part of this movement and joining forces with A Day with HIV on Tuesday, 9/9/14. To learn more about this year's initiative, view last year's pictures, and get tips on how to snap your best photo visit www.ADayWithHIV.com. Photos taken on Tuesday, September 9 need to be submitted by Friday, September 12 on the A Day with HIV website or emailed to [email protected]. Photo submissions will be featured on www.ADayWithHIV.com and selected photos will appear in the November/December issue of Positively Aware. Four pictures will be chosen by a panel of judges to be featured on four different covers of the magazine.

Follow A Day with HIV on its Facebook page, on Twitter @A_Day_With_HIV, or on Instagram to see updates and selected photographs from last year, and to share the campaign and its vision with your networks using the hashtag #ADayWithHIV.

Positively Aware
Test Positive Aware Network (TPAN), Chicago's oldest peer-led AIDS service organization, publishes Positively Aware, the leading not-for-profit publication in the U.S. serving the HIV community. Positively Aware educates providers and empowers those living with HIV/AIDS to advocate for their health care; editorial content is focused on HIV health, wellness, and accurate, up-to-date treatment information. Positively Aware is published bi-monthly and reaches 100,000 readers with each issue. 2014 is Positively Aware's 25^th year anniversary. For more information, please visit www.positivelyaware.com or www.tpan.com.

Let's Stop HIV Together
As part of its ongoing effort to put HIV back on the radar of all Americans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched Let's Stop HIV Together, a national communication campaign designed to raise awareness about HIV and its impact on the lives of all Americans, and fight stigma by showing that persons with HIV are real people—mothers, fathers, friends, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, partners, wives, husbands, and co-workers. The campaign gives voice to people living with HIV from all walks of life, alongside their friends and family members. For more information, please visit www.cdc.gov/ActAgainstAIDS/Together.

SOURCE Positively Aware