Giuliani Alvarenga is an award-winning writer and law student living in New Orleans. A familiar face to those who have watched Trust Me, I’m Sick, they are HIV-undetectable and have a Bachelor's degree in English Literature and Gender & Women's Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. Giuli is also affiliated with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and a student liaison for the American Bar Association's Health Law Section. They are also involved in immigration rights as a public health issue, and speak on this topic in partnership with various organizations, as well as contributing writing to TheBody.com alongside last week’s guest, Charles Sanchez. In 2019, they received a Marguerite Casey Foundation scholarship to report and write a story on the chronically ill Latinx women of Los Angeles. Giuli was featured on the April/May 2018 cover of POZ Magazine, selected as one of the POZ 100 in 2019, and has also appeared on CNN en Español.
Tune in as Giuliani shares:
that they received their status abruptly while living in the Bay Area; but with the help of a wonderful case director, became undetectable within a month
how understanding their friends and romantic partners have been about their diagnosis
that being HIV-undetectable means they cannot transmit the virus to anyone
the importance of open communication with potential lovers
how they’re addressing HIV laws in Louisiana, which often stigmatize and criminalize HIV+ individuals
how they have learned from their past and are using their experience as a tool to create change
why racial bias in healthcare is a public health crisis, and needs to be addressed in the legal field
that they are an ambassador for the CDC’s Let’s Stop HIV Together campaign
how housing, detention, and immigration play a role in public health
why advocating for people over property and profit is essential for universal healing
096: Giuliani Alvarenga on Public Health, Legislation, & HIV