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Brittany is originally from a small town in Washington State. She is a 34 year old mother of six children and lives in Los Angeles California.

She tested positive for drugs at her birth because her mother was actively using. As a result, she was taken away from her and placed in custody with her uncle and aunt. When she was one and a half years old Brittany was taken away from them by Child Protective Services. It was found out that besides being abused physically by both, she had been sexually abused by her uncle.

At age of 2, she was adopted by the chief of police of the town and his wife. Brittany calls his adoptive father “my rock” because of the support he has given to her during all her life, despite of differences in opinions at times. When she was 11, her adoptive parents divorced and as it happens, it was a very traumatic for Brittany. To make it worse, she was blamed by her adoptive mother as the cause of the divorce.

She stayed with her adoptive father for some time. Brittany comments that she had the tendency to hurt herself. Due to the duties of his adoptive father as a chief of police, there was nobody to look after Brittany during his long shifts. Brittany had to be placed in different foster homes. She was a rebel, at 12 years, she was placed in a treatment facility for difficult children; but she always found the way to run away from them. She escaped the treatment facility and being still a minor, she went to live with an 18-year-old guy. She was using drugs, having sex and doing all sort of things that a 15-year-old should not do. She was found by the police, and she was placed in a foster system, Brittany went to live to a foster home with thepastor of a church and his wife where she did not have time to misbehave, she was always at church. For one year she was with them, her foster parents did everything they could possibly do for her wellbeing, she wrote poetry and a diary to deal with her emotions.

Brittany was diagnosed with a mental disability and addiction to substances because she was born from a drug addict mother. Then she was placed in an adult foster home where she thought she finally had found the family she was looking for; however, it did not last long, one week after she ran away and met a guy whom she was using drugs and having sex. At 19, she gave birth go her first daughter.

She was diagnosed with HIV when she was on the 8th month of her third pregnancy. She was put immediately on a very effective treatment and reach viral suppression very quickly, and she was able to deliver a healthy baby boy. Now she has a family of four children living together, her children are negative, healthy strong and beautiful babies.

Brittany practically has gone to hell and come back. She says that she is adherent to her HIV treatment because it represents well being for her kids and herself.

She is in recovery from substance use and sober for 8 years now. She receives medical care at UCLA with Dr. De Ville. She is going to community college; her goal is to complete higher education and help children and teenagers to overcome their traumas. She is accomplishing what once she was told she was not going to be able to accomplish.

Brittany’s story is very intense and rough. It includes drug addiction, survival sex work, violence, rape, and sex trafficking. It also includes successes and accomplishments. It’s a story of survival, recovery, and motherhood.

Funding provided by the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) Ending the HIV Epidemic Grant and the County of Los Angeles, Department of Public Health,

This podcast is brought to you by the Los Angeles Family AIDS Network

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In this deeply moving episode of Confessions: HIV+ Women, Lori shares her powerful journey of overcoming trauma, addiction, and HIV, ultimately finding healing and becoming the mother she always dreamed of. Born in Wichita, Kansas, Lori is a 43-year-old professional with a master's degree in counseling psychology and 18 years of experience as a therapist. But behind her academic success, Lori’s life story is one of survival and resilience.

Growing up in a tumultuous home with an alcoholic, verbally abusive father, Lori’s parents divorced when she was just six. Her family moved to California, where Lori suffered years of sexual abuse by her stepfather, a secret she kept for many years. Despite these early hardships, Lori later built a career and became a mother. But six months after giving birth to her twins, Lori received an unexpected diagnosis—HIV. This news came after she had visited the doctor following a warning about Hepatitis C, but the diagnosis revealed something more life-changing.

She was diagnosed with HIV six months after giving birth to the twins. As a mother, Lori was overwhelmed with concern about possibly passing HIV to her newborns, especially since she hadn’t been tested during pregnancy since she was not considered to be “high-risk”. Shortly after she gave birth to her twins, Lori struggled with post-partum depression and relapsed. Lori and her partner at the time began using meth again. This led to her therapist filing a mandated report and removing her children from her. Her twins tested positive for HIV while in foster care.

Lori worked hard to achieve sobriety and get her children back. Today, Lori is a mother to a 10-year-old son and two 4-year-old twins, a boy and a girl and her children are thriving. Her oldest son is in 5th grade and loves basketball, while her twins are excelling in kindergarten. Lori is a single mother determined to be the mother she never had, navigating life with love, dedication, and a commitment to spending quality time with her children.

Lori’s story is not just one of struggle but of strength. From childhood trauma to substance abuse, recovery, and the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lori has faced it all. With the support of her brother, who played a key role in her recovery, Lori found the strength to rebuild her life.

Today, Lori is open about her HIV status with family and friends, helping to break the stigma and promote the importance of medication adherence and U=U (undetectable = untransmissible). As a therapist, she uses her own experiences to empower others, emphasizing the importance of self-care, healthy choices, and resilience.

Lori’s story serves as a powerful reminder that success in education or career doesn’t shield us from life’s toughest challenges. But with a willingness to change, dedication, and the support of others, we can overcome even the greatest obstacles. Join us for an inspiring conversation about healing, love, and the strength to transform our lives.

Funding provided by the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) Ending the HIV Epidemic Grant and the County of Los Angeles, Department of Public Health, Division of HIV and STD Programs

This podcast is brought to you by the Los Angeles Family AIDS Network

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Mari is a Latina woman diagnosed with HIV in 2006 at 19 years of age when she was pregnant with her first child. Mari is now 37; she lives in Los Angeles and has been living with HIV for 18 years.

Mari’s story is about how she has learned to be a mother facing multiple challenges: domestic violence in the form of verbal abuse, drug use, HIV diagnosis, incarceration, substance abuse treatment, being unhoused, living on the streets, and raising five children. A very complex task to take on for anyone.

When Mari was diagnosed with HIV, she had no methods for dealing with difficult emotions. She found a support system in Crystal, but it was not a person, she says it was crystal meth. She continued using substances for six weeks after conceiving. It was not until she was incarcerated that she started substance abuse recovery and became adherent to her HIV meds. She was released shortly after.

She has been pregnant four times and has five children. In her second pregnancy she had a set of twins. Her immediate family is composed of her husband, four girls and a boy: “the king of the house” her youngest.

Mari has worked so hard to have good control of her life and practice gentle parenting. Breaking the cycle of generational trauma is extremely hard, she comments.

For Mari, the most challenging situation as a woman with HIV was disclosure. It prevented her from accessing many services for her children because of her own self-stigmatization; however, she came up with a way to resolve this matter. She recorded a podcast episode and since then has found relief. Now she can talk freely about HIV, sexual health and other topics historically considered taboo in the Latinx community.

Breast feeding her children was something that was also robbed from her due to her HIV diagnosis. However, the guidelines have changed, and for many women with HIV, breastfeeding has become an option - after talking with their medial provider.

Mari now works as a Peer Navigator in a prestigious public university in Los Angeles. She dedicates herself to helping women with HIV, drawing from her own experience. She helps them to be comfortable in their own skin and empowers them to be adherent to treatment and medication. Mari is currently attending school to obtain a bachelor’s degree. Her goal is to become a Social Worker, and she is on her way.

In this compelling episode, Mari shares how she has resolved challenges related to HIV, how she has become a good mother, and how to blossom and thrive despite an unhappy childhood all for the love of her 5 children.

Funding provided by the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) Ending the HIV Epidemic Grant and the County of Los Angeles, Department of Public Health, Division of HIV and STD Programs

This podcast is brought to you by the Los Angeles Family AIDS Network