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Melissa St. Denis radiates a quiet strength.

St. Denis is a peer mentor at the Persons Living With AIDS Network of Saskatchewan. She was diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) 13 years ago, the result of a boyfriend who lied about his health.

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At first, she was angry.

“I found out on my birthday, and then I got high,” St. Denis said. “For a year straight, every day I got high.”

“But you know,” she said. “I just got tired of it. I just realized it wasn’t going to help me and that I needed better.”

St. Denis got sober. Today, she dedicates her life and time to helping women whose shoes she was in.

“I just find myself to be a mama bear,” St. Denis said. “If I see it, I say it. I don’t mean to be blunt, but I have to be straightforward and honest. Especially when it’s girls I’ve known my whole life, and they’re still out there and they’re still addicted and they’re still struggling. They’re HIV positive. It’s hard to watch that. It really is.”