Speakers Give Faces, Voice to Epidemic
By DMITRY RASHNITSOV
Three years after Todd Murray was diagnosed with HIV he decided he wasn’t going to let the disease take over his life. Murray founded the group Hope’s Voice, which is dedicated to providing programs, educational lectures, events and campaigns that reach the hearts and minds of their youthful audience.
“When I was diagnosed I struggled with what being positive meant in today’s world and the fear based messages had done little to inspire or empower me, instead they made me fear myself and the disease I was living with,” Murray said. “I didn’t have a community of young people that could share their fears, struggles and accomplishments. Once I was able to be open about my status, I started to meet an amazing group of young people living with HIV that were community advocates. What amazed me most was how different we all were, yet we shared the same disease.”
Murray recently moved to South Florida and decided to bring his group with him.
“South Florida is a place where the community often embraces those living with HIV or AIDS and has a progressive history for supporting innovative organizations and causes. South Florida has done a lot to address this issue but there is always more to do,” Murray said. “My hope is that being a part of the community will provide opportunities for us to work with new partners to build powerful campaigns, conversations and support for those living with the HIV or AIDS.”
Hope’s Voice lectures are presented by young people who offer a variety of diverse stories and information on important issues. The sharing of their story creates a personal connection to students by sharing an often unique perspective. It always includes an informative 101, and finishes with the space for open and often candid questions and discussion.
Hope’s Voice works with colleges and campuses to educate and inspire people to understand the issues and encourage a safe space for difficult conversations. They have spoken at more than 700 universities since 2004. Currently the group employs seven different lecturers.
“We are always looking accepting applications for speakers and hire on annual basis,” Murray said. “We offer our speakers a source of extra income for contracted speakers. The flexibility of Hope’s Voice allows our speakers to reside around the country, hold full time jobs, attend school and/or raise their families. Hope’s Voice serves as a representative for our speakers so that they may do what they do best, use their voice to make an impact. Hope’s Voice is a family and we consider this work much more than a job or story to sell. We pride ourselves on not only educating the public, but validating those who are strong enough to share their realities.”
The Hopes Voice group has several different lecture series including, “Does HIV Look Like Me” and “Faces of War.”
“Does HIV Look Like Me? International Society is always in need of support and commitment. We strive to provide the same opportunity to young people in other countries; the opportunity to tell their stories without fear or isolation. We encourage those who can to give to the organization to log onto www.doeshivlooklikeme.org and become apart of this important movement, young people have the highest rate of infection, yet they are often silenced and excluded in the solutions to this fight. We are changing that by developing and supporting young leaders living with HIV or AIDS,” Murray said.
For the Does HIV Look Like Me? Lecture series, Hope’s Voice is looking for members of the Latino, African American, Asian and heterosexual male community to join the ranks of speakers.
The group is run like a business and does not receive any grants or donations but instead is completely funded from the bookings they receive nationwide. For more information visit: www.hopesvoice.org.
