Knowledge, Care, and Community for All New Yorkers
For many New Yorkers, a new HIV diagnosis doesn't just change their health status—it dismantles the entire care infrastructure they relied upon. The systems built around prevention were never designed to catch people on the other side of it, and the consequences of that gap are measurable, painful, and preventable.
They survived a plague that killed their friends, endured decades of treatment, and outlived every prognosis. Now, New York City's long-term HIV survivors are confronting a new crisis: a healthcare system, a housing market, and an aging services infrastructure that was never built with them in mind.
An HIV diagnosis rarely arrives alone. For many New Yorkers, it brings depression, anxiety, grief, and trauma that can be just as difficult to manage as the virus itself. This practical guide maps out the mental health resources available across the five boroughs — from specialized therapy and peer support groups to psychiatric care and crisis services — and offers firsthand perspectives from HIV-positive New Yorkers who have navigated the system, in all its complexity.
HIV does not discriminate — but the systems meant to prevent and treat it often do. Black and Latino New Yorkers continue to face disproportionately high rates of new HIV diagnoses and HIV-related mortality, not because of individual behavior, but because of deeply embedded structural failures. This investigation examines the data, the lived experiences, and the targeted interventions that public health experts say can actually change the trajectory.
Despite robust legal protections and decades of scientific evidence confirming that HIV cannot be transmitted through routine clinical care, many HIV-positive healthcare professionals in New York City continue to conceal their status from employers, colleagues, and institutions. The fear is not irrational — it is rooted in documented patterns of workplace discrimination that persist even within the very field dedicated to healing. This investigation examines what that silence costs both the work
For HIV-positive New Yorkers — especially those with lower CD4 counts or unsuppressed viral loads — mpox presents a distinct and serious set of risks that demand specific, actionable information. This guide cuts through the noise to explain what immunocompromised individuals genuinely need to know about transmission, symptoms, vaccination, and treatment, drawing on current medical guidance and the voices of community members who have already navigated this terrain.
For decades, daily pill regimens have defined HIV treatment — but a new generation of long-acting injectable medications is beginning to change that reality. Cabotegravir and lenacapavir offer dosing schedules measured in months rather than days, with profound implications for adherence, privacy, and quality of life. Here is what New Yorkers living with HIV need to know right now.
PrEP is one of the most powerful HIV prevention tools ever developed, yet thousands of New Yorkers who could benefit from it never receive a single pill. From insurance denials to pharmacy deserts in the Bronx and Queens, systemic failures are quietly undermining the city's prevention progress. This investigation examines who is falling through the cracks — and what must change.
Across New York City, LGBTQ+ community centers are evolving into trusted healthcare destinations where PrEP is not just available — it is welcomed, explained, and destigmatized. By meeting people where they already feel safe, these spaces are quietly transforming how underserved New Yorkers access HIV prevention.
The science is settled, the evidence is overwhelming, and yet misconceptions persist: a person living with HIV who maintains an undetectable viral load cannot sexually transmit the virus. For New Yorkers navigating relationships, disclosure, and self-worth in the shadow of decades-old stigma, understanding U=U is not just a matter of public health — it is a matter of dignity.