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Anyone who knows Winder, Georgia resident Tammy Kinney recognizes that she is an outgoing and passionate advocate for people living with and affected by HIV. Hers is an amazing story of triumph and recovery that she brings to her work every day.
Tammy’s father served in the U.S. Air Force, so she traveled a lot growing up. Eventually she came ‘home’ to Winder, a rural community, where she serves as forensic case manager for Advantage Behavioral Health. She also works as a community mobilizer for AIDS Healthcare Foundation. At AHF, she’s a reliable champion in its work advocating for the end of the HIV epidemic. Tammy is a natural leader in her community. She’s often attending protests and rallies for AHF, bringing with her a network of volunteers and allies.
“I am the founder and executive director of an organization called Rural Women in Action. I’m a woman proudly living with advanced HIV having been diagnosed in 1987. I’m in long term recovery for 14 years. I have learned to live my life unapologetically, proudly and bravely. And I am a proud great-grandmother of Haven, who also lives close by. Having been addicted to drugs, I always dreamed to have a better and different life that was meant for me,” said Tammy. Active with networks of people living with HIV, Tammy previously served as a co-chair of the Positive Women’s Network in Georgia.
Tammy is a person of deep faith. She has spoken in churches in rural Georgia, explaining what it’s like to live a healthy life as a person living with HIV. She has spoken and sat on platforms with pastors and church leaders to explain that HIV is a public health issue, and that churches have one obligation and that is to welcome, support and show love to people living with HIV. She understands that there’s a lot of fear, but she advises faith leaders to have conversations that will help de-stigmatize HIV. In addition, each year she speaks to medical students at the University of Georgia in Athens and was highlighted on the Portia Fox show, People2People, V103 radio station.
Tammy can personally attest to the importance of the 340B program. When asked why she cares about 340B, she said, “When I think about people living with HIV, people tell me, ‘I can’t get medications, I don’t have insurance.’ That’s where 340B steps in. The most important thing is 340B saves lives. With 340B, people who are uninsured are still able to receive medication. Often people in my community don’t know how to access resources. 340B helps them get into treatment so they can move on with their lives. They can get medication regardless of their insurance status. When people say they don’t have money, or insurance, 340B steps in to help them get on treatment. Getting people living with HIV on treatment is way to end the epidemic and lower the rate of HIV transmission.”
340B’s Role in Rural America
Living in rural part of Georgia gives Tammy a unique perspective on 340B’s value. “It keeps people healthy in rural areas and in this country, so we won’t have a lot of sick people on our hands. People in rural areas without a lot of money don’t go to doctor’s appointments, they go to the emergency room. The emergency room is their doctor’s office. People with no money don’t receive the best care in the emergency room because they’re there all the time. And when men and women’s backs are against the wall, they become vulnerable to other issues, such as hepatitis C, STD’s and HIV”.
Although Tammy is a sweet gentle person, she has an iron will. “I’m fighting for someone else’s life. From growing up in a military family, I understand that sometimes you have to fight. In my mind and heart, I’m fighting for someone else who can’t fight for themselves, for thousands and thousands of people living with HIV. I’m going to fight another day for somebody. It’s a good feeling. I know 340B saves lives.”
For more information about AIDS Healthcare Foundation, visit www.ahf.org
