Young shiner Hydeia Broadbent is known for being one the first African-American youth to speak up and out about HIV/AIDS. Starting at the tender age of six, she began speaking to crowds about the affects the disease can have on one’s life and how they can prevent being infected. Being infected herself at birth by her mother, Hydeia knows first-hand the impact HIV/AIDS can have.
Hydeia’s goal is to save lives. She has been featured on networks like NBC, CBS, FOX, ABC, CNN, MTV, BET, Discovery Channel, Nickelodeon, Disney, CW and more to share her story. “People think because I was born with HIV my story does not apply to them. Well this same disease I am living with is the same disease you can get if you don’t practice safe sex and know your HIV status and the HIV status of your sexual partner. I ask people to use my testimony as a warning of what you don’t want to go through,” she says.
Born in the 1980s when advances in technology and medicine were not as they are now, Hydeia was not expected to live past the age of five. Now an adult, she continues to spread the word to youth and beyond about the importance of being tested and knowing their status even if the disease is no longer a death sentence. “Please do your part in the fight against HIV/AIDS [by] knowing your own status. No AIDS is not the death sentence it once was but it is a life sentence that can be filled with doctor appointments and medications. Knowing your HIV status also means you wont unknowingly [infect] anyone else,” she said.
Hydeia’s courage and desire to help others is admirable and inspiring. Find out more about this young shiner at HydeiaBroadbent.com.
If you missed the Code Blue PSA with young shiners Rhyon Brown, Paige Hurd, Skye Townsend and others CLICK HERE to watch!
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