Peer Empowers People Living with HIV Through Support and Education

"After understanding how the disease progresses in the body and how the meds work to slow it down, I knew I had to share this with newly infected people."

Meet Sheila Jackson, a 46-year-old single mother of one. She is a remarkable songstress, community activist and known by many as a faithful friend. Sheila is a native of St. Louis, Missouri where she works as the HIV Program Director for Living by Design, a holistic alternative healthcare facility for HIV+ people. She warns us not to be impressed by her title. Her first love is to serve her community by providing HIV education, facilitating HIV support groups for women, and serving as the co-chair for the Consumer Advocacy Committee of the St. Louis HIV Planning Council.

Sheila is a graduate of the People to People, Peer Education Program and uses her knowledge to empower others through peer support and treatment education. She says, "The People to People program has helped me tremendously by giving me the confidence that I need to teach others. The information that I learned was very thorough and was taught in a way that was very easy to understand. The most memorable thing I learned was the viral life cycle piece. For years I heard that HIV lies dormant in the body for up to 10 years, but after understanding how the disease progresses in the body and how the meds work to slow it down, I knew I had to share this [information] with newly infected people. I really wanted to ease their fears about dying and help them know why it's important to take their medications the right way."

Sheila continues to support the People to People program and regularly encourages others to participate. She has volunteered as a peer for several local AIDS Service Organizations for the last six years. She has now secured her current position at Living by Design where she has served for the last two years.

Submitted by Simone Phillips, Community Outreach Specialist, American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter
People to People is a collaborative effort among the American Red Cross, Kansas City Free Health Clinic, and Midwest AIDS Training and Education Center-Missouri.