iStock/Thinkstock(ORLANDO, Fla.) — A Florida congressional candidate revealed this week that he is HIV-positive.
Bob Poe, who is running for Florida’s 10th district congressional seat, released a video on Facebook Thursday saying he was diagnosed 18 years ago, but he’s “perfectly healthy.”
He shared a story about meeting someone in his state who was also HIV-positive.
“…I ran into somebody in the community a few weeks back, let’s call her Linda, and Linda told me that she had been recently diagnosed with HIV and she thought she had a death sentence,” Poe said. “I told her that she didn’t, and even shared with her where she could go to get the resources that she needed. But I really just wanted to hug her, and let her know that she wasn’t alone. Because I too had HIV.”
He talked about the “fear and the stigma that surrounds this condition” as a reason why he wasn’t upfront with the woman about it.
“So now it’s time to come out and share this with you publicly so that we can begin to have this discussion and remove the fear and the stigma and the shame that goes with this,” he said.
“If you want to make a difference, you have to be the difference,” he added.
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