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CJ Tobe
One of the most important things people can do for their health is to learn about their HIV status.
HIV self-tests are the answer.
We allow people to have an HIV test mailed to their homes, so they can do it when it’s convenient for them.
The DAP Health pilot project tested a program, and it is now part of our HIV testing program.
Unfortunately, too many people don’t know their status. In Coachella Valley, 49% of people have not been tested.
This means that too many people don’t know if they have the virus. Not only can they continue to pass it on, they are at a much higher risk of developing opportunistic infections, cancer, or being diagnosed with AIDS.
Undiagnosed and untreated HIV is serious. The good news is that there are treatments that allow people to thrive without spreading the virus.
The path to cure and hope begins with a test.
DAP Health offers free HIV self-tests to anyone who requests them. It takes about 20 minutes to get a result from these saliva-based home tests.
Fear prevents many people from getting tested.
Many people fear their life will end if they are positive. But the sooner a person is diagnosed with HIV, the sooner they can start taking medication. And the sooner that happens, the better the quality of that person’s life will be.
When I was growing up in rural Ohio, I tested positive for AIDS. It was only after my diagnosis that I learned about HIV and AIDS. And like other people diagnosed with AIDS, I had multiple health issues.
My diagnosis allowed me to take control of my health. And it allowed me to focus more on my body and what I’m doing with it.
Having HIV is no longer a death sentence. A person in their 20s who tests positive and starts taking medication early can expect to live a full life.
Many people are also afraid to get tested because they think they will never have emotional or sexual relations again if they are HIV positive.
Countless people, including me, have continued to have meaningful relationships despite our status. The best way for a person living with HIV to protect a sexual partner is to continue to attend medical care, complete quarterly lab work, and take medication.
A person living with HIV can take one tablet a day and have an undetectable viral load, thereby eliminating the risk of transmitting the virus. As they say, “Undetectable is non-transmissible: U = U.”
No one living with HIV is alone. Once a person has a free HIV self-test with DAP Health, they have a comprehensive support system to build on.
Once someone has taken a test, they will be able to have an open, non-judgmental conversation about their sexual practices with a state-certified expert educator.
At DAP Health, even though it is 2 a.m., a staff member is available to speak and provide support.
If a person is HIV negative, we can connect them to PrEP, a daily pill that helps an HIV negative person stay HIV negative.
My diagnosis of AIDS was a turning point in my life. My journey has been difficult and painful, but it has led me to a job that I love: serving the community.
I see myself in many people who walk through our doors. Ten years ago, I was desperate, depressed and suicidal. Every day I experience DAP Health which gives people hope regardless of their HIV status.
DAP Health’s HIV self-tests were born out of the coronavirus pandemic.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we knew we had to innovate to avoid losing the progress made over the past decade in ending the HIV epidemic. We knew access was the key. We struggled with questions such as how to provide HIV and STI tests and link to care when people were at home.
Last spring, when we started delivering food and essential items to customers’ homes so that they were not exposed to COVID-19 at the grocery store, we saw an increase in new cases of HIV and AIDS. ‘IST.
We didn’t want COVID-19 to stop people from getting tested because everyone needs to know their HIV status. We had to find a way to get the tests into people’s homes.
HIV remains a global pandemic. People always need to get tested and they always need to know their status. With our test kits, DAP Health demonstrates its commitment to ending HIV in our region.
For a free HIV self-test, please visit daphealth.org/free-hiv-test or call 760-567-2431 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
CJ Tobe is director of community health at DAP Health, a Palm Springs-based nonprofit organization.
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