This Valentine’s Day, Gift The Gift of PrEP
Cause this is everybody’s fight.
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Valentine’s Day is a time to shower the ones we love with an extra bit of adoration and attention. Get the chocolates, get the flowers, take some time for you and your beloved human — but before you do all that, make sure you both are being proactive about your sexual health, too.
Here to chat with us about one aspect of sexual health is Dimitri Joseph Möise.
Dimitri is a lifelong activist and social entrepreneur dedicated to the liberation of all people through storytelling, transformative justice, and strategic design. As President of S.P.L. INC, Dimitri spearheads executive teams, businesses & organizations to create sustainable ecosystems of equity, inclusion, peer-to-peer mentorship, and civic engagement. As a national HIV advocate & spokesperson, Dimitri renews the lives of people all across the world — through his words, talks, and partnerships, most recently with Walgreens.
Here he took the time to sit with me and chat about what it means to be an HIV advocate, what he wishes people understood about HIV, and how partners and individuals can get access to PrEP:
Do you think we underappreciate our personal health?
DM: I think we live in a society that discourages personal and mental health unless it’s a “quick fix.” One of the biggest lessons I have learned, particularly throughout my mental health journey, is that personal health is ever-evolving. It changes day to day. That’s why I like to take the start of each morning to check in with myself. Some days are better than others. And that’s okay. We’re living through multiple pandemics, from COVID to white supremacy to climate change. It can be easy to feel like everything is coming at you from all sides. That weight is heavy, and ensuring your personal and mental health can be a huge part of lifting that weight off your shoulders.
Why is honesty an essential component of any healthy relationship?
DM: For a relationship to be healthy, it must be built on trust and honesty. I think back on past relationships and pinpoint how I wished for more honesty from my partner or myself. The lessons from my past allow me to strengthen and grow the relationships I have today…
