LifeSkills Mobile Celebrates Self-Love on HIV Testing Day
This year, on Thursday, June 27, LifeSkills Mobile will observe National HIV Testing Day to highlight the importance of HIV testing for living a healthy, fulfilling life. At LifeSkills Mobile we believe that trans women and trans femmes have so much beauty, talent, and love to offer this world, but we can only realize that potential if we love ourselves first. So, we hope you’ll participate in National HIV Testing Day on June 27 and share this year’s message of "level up your self-love: check your status."
HIV Testing and HIV Prevention
At LifeSkills Mobile, we believe in the power of self-love and goal setting to keep your life moving in the right direction. We want you to feel happy and fulfilled in pursuing your own personal goals, whether that be in your career, relationships, education, hobbies, and more. We want you to win that trophy for whatever category you set your heart and mind to! But first, you have to make sure you are taking care of your own health and loving your own body.
HIV testing, including self-testing, is essential for engaging in this form of self-love. Today, there are more tools than ever to help you prevent HIV, including resources we offer through our study, LifeSkills Mobile. But it all begins with knowing your HIV status. If you test positive, you can promptly start HIV treatment (antiretroviral therapy or ART) to stay healthy. If you test negative, you can make better-informed decisions about what HIV prevention tools such as PrEP and condoms might work best for you and your loved ones. Knowing your status also provides access to other sexual health services, including STI testing.
We realize that discrimination, stigma, and barriers to healthcare access can make HIV testing difficult for trans women and trans femmes. Fortunately, there are free self-testing options that do not require in-person visits. If you are in the US and 17 or older, you can request a free home HIV self-test through the Together TakeMeHome program. If you enroll in our paid HIV study, LifeSkills Mobile, we will also provide you with free at-home self-tests and other HIV prevention tools.
How LifeSkills Mobile can help with HIV Prevention
LifeSkills Mobile is a paid HIV prevention study for sexually active trans women and trans femmes ages 16 to 29. We are testing a free virtual HIV prevention web app that builds self-confidence and self-worth. If you’re enrolled, you will do a home HIV test and a survey every 6 months for up to 2 years, depending on when you start the study. Participants can receive up to $275 for their time.
LifeSkills Mobile is based on a successful in-person program started in Chicago in 2012 called Project LifeSkills. Over the course of 7 years, more than 300 trans women and femmes took part in the 3-week-long Project LifeSkills program. The success of the program led it to be designated a best practice model for HIV prevention amongst trans women and femmes by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Since 2020 we’ve been working to go a step further and adapt Project LifeSkills into a free web app platform to reach more people including those who can’t access an in-person program.
We believe effective HIV prevention must involve setting healthy boundaries while engaging in dating, relationships, sex, and sex work. It also means building skills to navigate healthcare settings.
Ultimately, our goal with LifeSkills Mobile is to help trans women and trans femmes achieve their goals in life, and not let HIV be a barrier to happiness and success. To see if you’re eligible to enroll in the LifeSkills Mobile study, please fill out your information at this link.
Spread the word on June 27!
National HIV Testing Day reminds us of the importance of knowing your HIV status. By valuing yourself and taking charge of your health, you can make better-informed decisions and achieve your goals in life. On June 27, you can help spread the message of "level up your self-love: check your status" by talking to others about HIV testing, including using the hashtag #HIVTestingDay on social media. And if you are a trans woman or trans femme aged 16 to 29, we hope you might also check out our paid HIV prevention study: LifeSkills Mobile.
