HIV+ Help in Jackson, Mississippi
Donation protected
The mission of Project + Connect is to fight the stigma of HIV infection and to support those living with HIV through creative story sharing and constant and compassionate interaction with those affected by the virus.
The organization is based in Queens, NY and offers one-on-one help across the country through our telephone hotline.
AIDS is not over and right now across the United States, men and women are still suffering with the virus. Nowhere is the virus is more devisting than in the Jackson, Mississippi area.

From an article published in The New York Times Magazine on June 6, 2017 (also the source of all photos here): "The South also has the highest numbers of people living with H.I.V. who don’t know they have been infected, which means they are not engaged in lifesaving treatment and care — and are at risk of infecting others. An unconscionable number of them are dying: In 2014, according to a new analysis from Duke University, 2,952 people in the Deep South (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas) died with H.I.V. as an underlying cause, with the highest death rates in Mississippi and Louisiana. Among black men in this region, the H.I.V.-related death rate was seven times as high as that of the United States population at large."
Project + Connect has teamed up with Jackson area organizations and directly with Cedric Sturdevant to help.
How your money will be used:
We will give the men and women affected by HIV and AIDS living in the Jackson area a chance to tell their story and have it archived for future generations. We believe that no one living with HIV/AIDS should fade away without having the chance to let their voice be heard and remembered.
All funds collected will go towards travel expenses for Project + Connect's trained HIV creative therapy experts who are volunteering their time to help in the Jackson area. Any funds raised beyond the cost of travel expenses will go directly to HIV positive people in the area to help them with medical and nutrition costs. Every dollar will therefore go directly to helping individuals.
What Project + Connect will do in the Jackson area:
Members of the organization who are trained in HIV/AIDS creative therapy methods will be travelling to the area at the end of September to meet one-on-one with those suffering from the virus and help them navigate their way through the psycological effects of HIV and the steps necessary to obtain proper medical care and most importantly, to help those living with the virus to record and preserve their story.

The volunteers from Project + Connect will meet with community members to talk with them about their experience with HIV and the stigma that they've had to endure. Volunteers will also be attending area conferences and participating in the making of a documentary - all to help end the stigma of HIV and AIDS.
Community members will be invited to stare their stories with the volunteers and stories will be published in the Project + Connect Poz (+) Story Archives . Those living with HIV will have the opportunity to learn from the experts about the ins-and-outs of coping with the virus and how to tell family, friends, partners, and co-workers about their status.
Project + Connect's volunteers will also, upon request, accompany community members to their "coming out" when revealing their status.
There are so many people in need of our support and we can do amazing things when we are #PositiveTogether.
Thank you for your support!

The organization is based in Queens, NY and offers one-on-one help across the country through our telephone hotline.
AIDS is not over and right now across the United States, men and women are still suffering with the virus. Nowhere is the virus is more devisting than in the Jackson, Mississippi area.
From an article published in The New York Times Magazine on June 6, 2017 (also the source of all photos here): "The South also has the highest numbers of people living with H.I.V. who don’t know they have been infected, which means they are not engaged in lifesaving treatment and care — and are at risk of infecting others. An unconscionable number of them are dying: In 2014, according to a new analysis from Duke University, 2,952 people in the Deep South (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas) died with H.I.V. as an underlying cause, with the highest death rates in Mississippi and Louisiana. Among black men in this region, the H.I.V.-related death rate was seven times as high as that of the United States population at large."
Project + Connect has teamed up with Jackson area organizations and directly with Cedric Sturdevant to help.
How your money will be used:
We will give the men and women affected by HIV and AIDS living in the Jackson area a chance to tell their story and have it archived for future generations. We believe that no one living with HIV/AIDS should fade away without having the chance to let their voice be heard and remembered.
All funds collected will go towards travel expenses for Project + Connect's trained HIV creative therapy experts who are volunteering their time to help in the Jackson area. Any funds raised beyond the cost of travel expenses will go directly to HIV positive people in the area to help them with medical and nutrition costs. Every dollar will therefore go directly to helping individuals.
What Project + Connect will do in the Jackson area:
Members of the organization who are trained in HIV/AIDS creative therapy methods will be travelling to the area at the end of September to meet one-on-one with those suffering from the virus and help them navigate their way through the psycological effects of HIV and the steps necessary to obtain proper medical care and most importantly, to help those living with the virus to record and preserve their story.
The volunteers from Project + Connect will meet with community members to talk with them about their experience with HIV and the stigma that they've had to endure. Volunteers will also be attending area conferences and participating in the making of a documentary - all to help end the stigma of HIV and AIDS.
Community members will be invited to stare their stories with the volunteers and stories will be published in the Project + Connect Poz (+) Story Archives . Those living with HIV will have the opportunity to learn from the experts about the ins-and-outs of coping with the virus and how to tell family, friends, partners, and co-workers about their status.
Project + Connect's volunteers will also, upon request, accompany community members to their "coming out" when revealing their status.
There are so many people in need of our support and we can do amazing things when we are #PositiveTogether.
Thank you for your support!
Organizer
Danny DeLo
Organizer
Astoria, NY
