Since Ryan’s death, Jeanne White married Roy Ginder, a neighbor in Cicero, and continues her work in raising awareness and reducing the stigma of HIV/AIDS.
“Among the greatest number of new AIDS cases,” says Jeanne, “are people in their 20s, which means most actually got the virus—HIV—in their teens.”
Education, Jeanne says, is the best way to combat new HIV infections and to fight discrimination against people who are already infected. “Sometimes Ryan was too sick to accept speaking engagements, but he never said no to teens. He believed that that was where we had to start.”
Unlike the time when Ryan became infected, today the country’s blood supply is believed to be safe. The surest protection teens have against AIDS is sexual abstinence and a drug-free life. For more information on and resources for HIV/AIDS, visit AIDS.gov.
Read Ryan White’s story of bravery and AIDS activism in Ryan White’s Miracle.
