POZitive Attitudes

This Wednesday March 14, 2018 Susan Lee Mintz will be our guest speaker.   The topic is Internalized Stigma from HIV.

Internalized stigma is internalized shame.  Roughly 1 out of 3 report feeling guilty or ashamed of their HIV status. What are some of the barriers that that shame or guilt bring?  Is this internalized stigma a barrier to accessing medical care?  To relationships?  To quality of life? Tonight we will discuss internalizing stigma when it comes to HIV. What does this mean to you as an HIV positive person especially someone who has been living with HIV for a long time? Internalizing stigma is an emotional component that you may not have thought you have done or are doing. What makes internalizing stigma so difficult is it’s up to you because it’s a choice. Are you internalizing the stigma of HIV or not? Susan will share the difference as to how she and her husband dealt with their internalizing stigma of HIV/AIDS.

Susan Lee Mintz is a baby-boomer, empowerment author, HIV/AIDS activist, Hospice advocate who resides in Boca Raton. Her involvement with HIV started in 1981. Her husband was a bisexual man, promiscuous, would not get tested and subsequently passed from pneumonia in 1994. With Susan at his side for 25 years, she documented their life and became an outspoken activist for HIV testing and early treatment. Her books Committed to Love as well as And I Held Their Hands with a Hospice Heart were recently accepted into the Palm Beach County Library System.

Susan is an HIV/AIDS facilitator for support groups in her church and senior living community. She is the Executive Director of the “I Love My Life Ministry” and Wellness Center in her church. Susan has served over the years in multiple capacities and with multiple agencies to include Hospice by the Sea in Boca Raton and for 6 years was an 11th hour volunteer both at their care center and for people in their homes. Susan was a volunteer with Disaster Services of The American Red Cross and The American Association for Suicide Prevention. Susan was a volunteer with the Comprehensive AIDS Program of Palm Beach County, Real AIDS Prevention Program (RAPP), Area 9 Minority AIDS Network, and the Palm Beach County Substance Abuse Coalition (PBCSAC. Susan’s lecture series entitled “YOU DON’T GET AIDS FROM LOVING SOMEBODY” has been presented throughout South Florida. Her books are available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon in stores, online, and her website. http://www.susanmintz.com