Giving Compass' Take:

• B.R.J. O'Donnell shares how Derrick “Strawberry” Cox copes with his HIV with the help of mentor Tony Burns, who also has HIV.

• How can philanthropy support mentorship? How has the public perception of HIV changed over the past 30 years? 

• Find out why the world is at risk of losing control of the HIV epidemic. 

Derrick “Strawberry” Cox found out that he had HIV on March 14, 2011. He’s been managing the virus ever since, an effort that’s supported by his mentor, Tony Burns—who has been managing his own HIV for nearly three decades. Their relationship centers not just on how their antiretroviral-therapy drugs are working for them, or how nutrition factors into the success of their care, but also on making sure that life remains bigger than their diagnosis.

People ask me if I’m positive,” Cox told me, “and I’ll tell them, HIV is not me, I have HIV.”

Cox and Burns met through the +1 peer-mentor program at Whitman-Walker Health, a nonprofit community-health center in Washington, D.C. The organization is open to all patients, but emphasizes health-care accessibility for the LGBTQ community and people living with HIV—two groups that have often experienced discrimination from medical professionals when seeking care. The +1 peer-mentor program pairs people who have been newly diagnosed with those who have been dealing with HIV for years and have experience finding the right treatment, managing stigma, and building a supportive community.

Read the full article by B.R.J. O'Donnell about HIV mentorship at The Atlantic.