In 2026, We’re Gonna Keep Building Statewide HIV Advocacy Power.
Our Action Team is part of a movement much bigger than our meetings—but those are important, too.
We are people living with HIV in North Carolina. We are public health workers. We are advocates and community members who understand that policy decisions shape our daily lives. From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Outer Banks, we come from different regions and experiences, but we all show up committed to protecting care and expanding access.
In 2025, we met 22 times. Each time, nearly a dozen of us showed up. Over the course of the year, we recorded 256 sign-ins. Many of those names appear again and again. This consistency means we learned together, tracked legislation together, and strengthened our collective voice.
Our focus has been clear. We have taken action to protect North Carolina’s HIV Medication Assistance Program and to defend Medicaid. These programs make treatment possible and keep people in care. They allow people living with HIV to plan for their futures with confidence.
Across those 22 meetings, we took 376 actions. On average, each gathering led to nearly 21 calls or emails to legislators. We speak collectively because lawmakers must hear from people who are directly impacted by HIV, from providers who see the consequences in clinic rooms, and from community members who refuse to let hard-won progress be reversed.
Our meetings are where we connect the dots. We introduce ourselves and share what is happening in our own communities. We walk through state-wide legislative updates and make sure everyone understands what a proposal could mean in real terms. We revisit the history of what we have already fought for and won. There is room to ask questions and space to grow as advocates.
This year asks a lot of us, but it is also an opportunity to deepen our leadership and strengthen our collective voice. We believe people living with HIV belong at every table where decisions about our lives are made.
If you are ready to build power with us, we hope to see your Zoom square at the next Action Team meeting. Join today!
