JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The second annual “Removing HIV Stigma in 4K” celebration kicked off Saturday in northwest Jacksonville to create awareness in the community.
Sharonda Lynn is the event’s founder and was diagnosed with HIV 20 years ago. Now, she’s using her platform to encourage others to become educated about HIV.
The event was held at Charles Boobie Clark Park and included a car show, a bounce house, a game truck and great food.
“This is one of the areas that are high in HIV cases and so we wanted to come out and bring the education to them. Sometimes where you’re in poverty or you’re thinking about trying to pay your rent or feed your children it’s kind of hard to think about healthcare,” Lynn said.
More than 6,700 people are living with HIV and over 3,400 are living with AIDS in Duval County.
Lynn said it’s important to not only educate people in Duval County about HIV but also eliminate the stigma behind it.
“You can still use the restroom after somebody. You can eat after somebody. You can actually have children after being diagnosed,” Lynn said. “I’ve had two after the diagnosis, and they’re negative. So, it’s just the stigma. The medication is tremendously better than what it was 20 years ago. HIV is not what it was 20 years ago,” Lynn said.
In 2021, new HIV infections were 12% lower in comparison to infection rates in 2017.
The event also included HIV testing onsite.