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The Positive Side Spring 2003
Volume 6, Issue2
Women's Words: Jane Strickland
Jane Strickland, 40+
Gananouque, Ontario
Diagnosed with HIV: 1990
CD4 count: above 300
Viral load: undetectable
Professional PHA (board member, committee member and advocate at Voices of Positive Women, HIV/AIDS Regional Services, Ontario AIDS Network, Canadian Treatment Action Council)
You don’t have to do this alone. Having a strong support network helps you to live with the virus and break down the isolation. Women tend to feel isolated for many reasons. Women also have to look after everybody else. A lot of women don’t have the resources that men do. With so many burdens and obligations, it’s harder for us to ask for help.
Support is very important for me and over the years I’ve developed a strong support network. I have to express my high regard for the gay community, as they had to fight the hardest, and this is where 90% of my support comes from. Every time I find out that someone is newly diagnosed, I get them connected. It’s vital to know that you don’t have to do it alone; there is support out there. There is somebody out there who knows what you’re talking about.
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