Asheville Grandmother Devotes Herself to HIV/AIDS Education

Nearly 15 years after HIV/AIDS came into her life through the loss of her first grandchild and the diagnosis of her daughter, Jennifer Poore continues her mission to bring awareness of the disease to Western North Carolina.

“I know what my family went through because of this disease,” said Poore. “So nothing feels more important to me than educating other people on how to not let this happen to another family.”

In 2005, Poore became Asheville’s first facilitator of SISTAS (Sisters Informing Sisters About Topics on AIDS), a nationally recognized program. She has since trained nearly 200 area women on HIV risk reduction. She volunteers with local organizations like the Western North Carolina AIDS Project (WNCAP) and the Asheville Buncombe Institute of Parity Achievement.

“Jennifer just has a real passion for this work, and she’s a great representative of the community,” said Michelle Marten, education coordinator for WNCAP.

“This is just not a topic that you hear about enough in the black community,” Poore said. “There is so much stigma around HIV in general, and people in the African-American community are especially unlikely to talk about things that are associated with being gay and with drug use. That’s why we have the SISTA’s classes - to really talk about it.”

Poore said the memory of losing her three-and-a-half-month-old granddaughter to AIDS-related complications partly keeps her going. “She was an angel. Everyone saw it,” she said. “In a lot of ways, this work is a way to honor her.” All three of Poore’s children are actively involved in raising HIV/AIDS awareness.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.

TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!