Community clinic on mission to educate Duval County residents, give new hope for HIV exposure prevention

DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. – A group of people is working hard to reduce the number of HIV cases in Northeast Florida, especially in Duval County, which is now ranked as the 6th in the state for the highest number of new HIV cases.

Jonathan Gholson is one of those people on a mission to talk to people about HIV, a virus many don’t like to talk about.

“Florida is ranked in the top five highest cases of HIV, so that’s pretty scary,” Gholson said.

Gholson is part of a team at First Coast Community Development, a local clinic that’s trying to get the word out about local HIV cases.

“Statistics say one in 53 Black women are living with HIV,” Gholston said. “That was from statistics in 2022.”

STATISTICS | Read Duval County’s HIV Surveillance Report | 2022 Statistics

To inform the most amount of people possible, he and a team get in a truck and go any and everywhere to talk about the disease.

Unlike previous decades, there’s a possible solution for HIV exposure.

That solution is called PEP, which stands for post-exposure prophylaxis, and is taken within 72 hours of exposure.

Exposure could occur from:

• Unprotected sex
• Sharing needles
• Sexual assault and other ways

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For hours, Gholston and others sit in the 90-degree heat waiting to talk about HIV. On Friday, for example, they visited the Norwood community.

Many people stopped by, but none of them wanted to talk with News4JAX about why they signed up for PEP.

Donte Chaffatt is also a part of the team.

“For me, Jacksonville is one of the leading cities in Florida for HIV so with that, a lot of people don’t know that,” Chaffatt said. “So I tell them, ‘I’m going to be honest with you, I have PEP in my house’ and I think when you connect with a person like that and let them know is something that I have and my goal for you is to never have to use it, they’re more open.”

MORE | Duval County ranks 3rd among Florida counties with most cases of gonorrhea: CDC

This team said they see their work as another opportunity to save a life and reduce the stigma of HIV because anyone can get it, but anyone can protect themselves from it too.

To learn more on PEP, visit this website. To learn more about PrEP, which stands for pre-exposure prophylaxis, visit this website.