Surviving and Thriving: Let's Talk
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Tune in as pozcast celebrates and honours long-term survivors living with HIV. On this episode host James Watson sets aside the microphone as we listen in on an intergenerational conversation between two thriving long-term survivors. Adrian Betts, the Executive Director of the AIDS Committee of Durham Region, sits down with Ashley Murphy, a 23-year-old actor and activist who has been living with HIV since birth. With vastly different journeys, our two guests discuss their unique challenges, triumphs and lessons learned along the way.
Our episode guests
Adrian Betts
Executive Director of the AIDS Committee of Durham Region and the original rowdy PHA
A gay man and long-term survivor, Adrian is the Executive Director of the AIDS Committee of Durham Region (ACDR). Adrian began working in the HIV/AIDS sector in 1989 at the Toronto People with AIDS Foundation, and over the years has worked at many HIV service organizations and with other social justice services. He is a complete sci-fi & comic book geek who loves(d) to travel; he used to breed Canadian Sport horses and lived in Australia for a few years. He is a passable cowboy, a terrible surfer and a loudmouth PHA.
A month without a car or a month without internet? A month without a car
Be loved or respected? Loved
Loose guidelines or clear directions? Loose guidelines, every time.
Ability to pause time or rewind time? Pause time
A pet pig or goat? A pet goat
Ashley Murphy
An actor, an AIDS Activist and 23-year-old who’s been living with HIV since birth.
Ashley Rose Murphy is from Ajax, Ontario and is a recent graduate from York University’s theatre program. Ashley has been an outspoken advocate for HIV/AIDS since the age of 10—speaking internationally at conferences and on panels, reaching places across the US to Geneva, Switzerland. Contracting AIDS from her late birth mother, she was given six months to live. But Ashley is good at overcoming obstacles and uses her story to show others that they, too, have the ability within themselves to face adversity head-on. Ashley’s mantra is to always be unapologetically you.
A month without a car or a month without internet? A month without a car. I don't even drive.
Be loved or respected? Loved
Loose guidelines or clear directions? Clear
Ability to pause time or rewind time? Pause time
A pet pig or goat? A pet goat
Each year June 5th is set aside to celebrate long-term survivors of HIV and on this month’s pozcast episode, we honour these histories and stories.
Host James Watson hands over the mic to Adrian Betts, the Executive Directorof the AIDS Committee of Durham Region, and Ashley Murphy, an actor, an AIDS Activist and 23-year-old who’s been living with HIV since birth (see Ashley's Ted Talk).
With vastly different journeys, we will hear about our guests’ unique but shared experiences, as well as their challenges, triumphs and lessons learned along the way. Host James Watson gets them started with a debate on the use of the term “hero” to describe their role in community, and the two discuss what it means to be a long-term survivor of HIV in an amiable and down-to-earth way.
The empowering use of story
…sharing your story is one of the most empowering things you can do as a person with HIV. Because it's not just sharing your story, it's owning your truth and coming out publicly as someone living with HIV, where you're no longer in control of that of that knowledge. Like, it's out there on the internet, or it's out there in a newspaper or wherever, right? It requires a degree of bravery and a degree of trust in yourself that you know, whatever happens, you can handle it. —Adrian
The two share their experiences of coming to terms with their diagnoses and using the power of sharing their story to connect with others, to create a sense of community, and to educate and advocate for fair and equitable access to care. For Adrian, the journey first began by helping others:
If you have a doctor is not listening to you, sometimes your best friend will be the best person to speak to that doctor, not you, right? Because sometimes you're better at speaking for others than you are for yourself. And I think that's where it began for me, in that helping other people came first. And then through that, I learned how to help myself.
The importance of empathy and education
The conversation hits on some very hot topics, including dating. Adrian and Ashley share their views on being out about their status, how to navigate both the online and in-person dating world, and the importance of people educating themselves about HIV prevention, including U=U (Undetectable=Untransmittable) and PreP (HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis).
…growing up in the family that I did, I learned from a young age [that] people have their issues, but also it's their differences that make them unique. And you shouldn't feel bad about any of that kind of stuff.—Ashley
The two conclude the episode by agreeing that while their HIV status sometimes bought about challenging and turbulent times, it also brought many triumphs, and allowed them to discover their agency and voice. Both long-term survivors, both inspirational leaders in the community—let’s listen in.
