Atlanta Journal-Constitution Profiles Woman With AIDS Who Uses Poetry as Outreach
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution yesterday profiled Denise Stokes, a woman with AIDS who went from being homeless and working as a prostitute to support herself to serving on former President Clinton's HIV/AIDS Advisory Council by channeling her talent for writing poetry. Stokes was diagnosed with HIV at age 16 and AIDS in 1996 at age 27. After disclosing her condition to her mother, she became homeless and began using drugs and working as a prostitute. Stokes, who no longer uses drugs and speaks nationally about HIV/AIDS, appears in ads for the America Responds to AIDS Campaign and serves as a board member of the not-for-profit AIDS education group Outreach, Inc., is currently producing her first spoken word CD, titled "The Glass Staircase." She is also working with producer Tony Mercedes on an autobiography and a documentary about her life to inform people about HIV/AIDS. More information about Stokes and her projects is available online at www.denisestokes.com. The full article is available online as well (Hill, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 10/18).
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