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In 2005, Sandro was working as an activist for LGBT rights in Italy when he was diagnosed with HIV. Like many people living with HIV, he felt alone and isolated, lacking a sense of community and connectedness.
“People began to look at me in a different way,” recalls Sandro. “And I felt, I still feel somehow isolated, somehow alone. But I discovered that this alone sentiment didn’t only belong to me. I wasn't alone.”
Sandro went on to help others in the same situation as him and founded PLUS* in Bologna - the first Italian organization for LGBTQ+ people living with HIV. It was a space where care and community intersected and gave rise to the BLQ Checkpoint.
While Italy has made progress toward global HIV goals, including the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets, late diagnoses and undetected cases continue to hinder efforts to curb the epidemic. That’s why community-based checkpoints like BLQ are so important for providing a haven for Italians to get tested and access peer counseling and prevention strategies.
Sandro is one of four Gilead Choose U™ campaign ambassadors leading this work in Italy. Salvio is another campaign ambassador who used his own diagnosis to help others as a counselor at BLQ Checkpoint.
“I talk with people through the testing process. When you are in a room waiting for your test results, a lot of fears emerge,” says Salvio. “And it's something very beautiful to have the privilege to listen to and give key interpretations for stuff that stops us from embracing our sexuality at its fullest. Knowledge in general is power.”
Daria and Nicoletta, became involved with AIDS Solidarity Association (ASA)*, a voluntary organization in Milan which aims to fight the stigma and prevent the spread of the epidemic, while providing support to the HIV community. ASA also played a role in the creation of the Milan Checkpoint, a beacon of supportive health in Italy's second-most populous city. Both Daria and Nicoletta are particularly focused on helping women in Italy — a population in which HIV is on the rise — ensuring they have access to resources, care and a supportive network.
Nicoletta, who serves as the president of the Milan Checkpoint, says, “We tend to see ourselves with the eyes of other people and so, we tend to judge ourselves. We are people that live with HIV. We have the right to live like other people.”
When thinking about the future of HIV care in Italy, Sandro encourages people living with HIV to advocate for themselves. “Ask, ask. The more you know, the better you leave.”
Watch the video above to learn more about the work of these ChooseU ambassadors.
*The PLUS and ASA organizations are grantees of funding from Gilead Sciences, Inc.