CHLP's Nick Rhoades Makes an Impression on HIV Criminalization at Wellness Summit in Iowa (2012)

On May 5th, Nick Rhoades, CHLP's Outreach and Event Specialist, engaged a crowd of Iowans on HIV criminalization at a wellness summit organized by Positive Iowans Taking Charge (PITCH). PITCH, a state-wide organization created to give people living with HIV a place to unite, advocate and assist other HIV-positive people for better health, is comprised solely of HIV-positive Iowans, "Run for HIV+, by HIV+."

Nick spoke about the Positive Justice Project, the national movement to end HIV criminalization coordinated by CHLP. He discussed ways that everyone could assist in helping to change Iowa's draconian HIV-specific statute. "The most powerful moment for me happened when I asked the group of 32+ participants to raise their hands if at any time since 1998, when Iowa's criminalization law was passed, any one had engaged in intimate contact with another adult and not disclosed his or her status," Nick said. "Slowly the hands went up...over a dozen people raised their hands! Any of these individuals could have been prosecuted at some point. I think that made an impression." 

Tami Haught, PITCH President, observed that "Nick did an amazing job leading the workshop about modernizing Iowa's criminal transmission statute. He has the ability to talk with people and not to them. Nick speaks with conviction from personal experience and captures people's attention by being so open and honest about his own experiences. Many wellness summit participants were aware of the law, but not the intricacies of it. One person commented, 'I was aware of the law but never thought it could affect me. I learned how I can better protect myself now.'"

To learn more about the Positive Justice Project, click here. 

To join the movement, contact Nick Rhoades, Outreach and Event Specialist, [email protected].