Dear Readers,

As some of you know, VOX recently rebranded itself and reconstructed our entire program so we may best represent the voices of Atlanta’s teenagers. Along with this reconstruction was the birth of the VOX Investigates team.

This team of teenagers took a semester-long journey into stories to produce print media, videos, audio stories, open dialogue sessions, photography and other journalistic platforms. The fall semester was dedicated to creating content that pertains to how HIV and AIDS plays a role within the city of Atlanta. We selected this topic due to the fact that the HIV and AIDS rates in Atlanta are reaching an all-time high. We are very gracious toward the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta and the Elton John AIDS Foundation for funding special coverage.

Everyone on the team, the teens and their mentors, have been working diligently to create this content — a print product and stories published online, here at voxatl.org/category/vox-investigates. Through the process of shaping these stories, the entire team faced challenges with securing interviews, giving multiple perspectives of situations and long hours of research.

While researching our topics, we all discovered a great amount of information about HIV and AIDS that we did not know before. (If you haven’t yet, take our quiz.)

As the intern, I have been able to watch each teen develop a new set of interviewing skills, communicate with their mentors, and learn so many new facts about HIV and AIDS.

Our special coverage features stories that tackle topics such as HIV within the transgender community, HIV/AIDS in pop-culture, myths of truths, profiles of people impacted by HIV, and more. We hope everyone reading our special coverage walks away with a deeper knowledge of how HIV and AIDS plays a role in the city we all call our home.

Add your voice. Click here to share your stories, poetry or letters about HIV and AIDS and Atlanta-area teens.