Gabriel San Emeterio, director of the HIV Complexities Project, housed at Long COVID Justice, and JD Davids, a member of What Would an HIV Doula Do?, co-founded Long COVID Justice in 2022.
The two sat down to catch up about the HIV Complexities Project, an expansive project led by and for people living with HIV (PLHIV) and complex chronic conditions that includes an online support group and accessible public health education and resources.
“It’s a project acknowledging that we’re grateful for the advancement in HIV treatment and that some people are thriving with taking just one pill. But this project is also trying to bring in the fact that our lives are way more complex than that, and we’re more than just our viral load,” San Emeterio says. “We’re trying to bring a more nuanced understanding of disability, because sometimes there’s such rejection of disability… By having HIV, our chances of experiencing disability are exponential.”