Today we’d like to introduce you to Nathaniel Holley.
Hi Nathaniel, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
My story started in a Midwest town called Dayton, Ohio. I was raised in a single-parent home with a mother who was determined to see her son succeed. Early on, I had a passion for helping others and after graduating from Morehouse College I went to teach English in South Korea. When I returned to the states I landed in Washington, D.C. This is the place where my journey took a different turn when I was diagnosed with HIV. This news sent me into a depression and ultimately to the doors of a therapist who helped me out of that dark time. From that time on, I dedicated myself to HIV and mental health advocacy. That is what led me to move to Dallas and start The Freelux Project, a non-profit with the mission to provide awareness, support, and stigma reduction education that promotes healthy living decreased health disparities and increased access to quality care.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The road has had its ups and downs. To be honest, I feel like I was in survival mode for so long, I couldn’t realize when I was winning. HIV wasn’t my only issue. I went through an abusive marriage, I went through unexpected job transitions, I stayed on my best friend’s couch for a year. I lost family members. And I have felt completely alone in the world at times. In the end, I find beauty in the fact that these things, meant to break me, ultimately made me stronger and more compassionate towards others.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about The Freelux Project?
The Freelux Project’s mission is to provide awareness, support, and stigma reduction education that promotes healthy living decreased health disparities, and increased access to quality care.
Currently, we host a panel series called “Lux Talk”, which highlights the lives of people living with HIV and opens a dialogue between other panelists who may be at risk for HIV. The show brings celebrities and influencers together with PLWHA to bridge the gap and inform their collective fanbase about HIV and the importance of treading mental health as general health.
I host the show and open this space for others to find empowerment despite diagnosis and to create a safe space for people to receive confidential HIV/STI testing and virtual mental health therapy. I have found that sometimes all people need is hope and direction, and that is what I try to provide. We recently received a grant to continue our work so there will be a lot more coming from The Freelux Project.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson I have learned along the way is that you can’t do it all, but you can make an impact. That is what I seek to do. Throughout all the ups and downs of my life I have found that if you keep going, and keep taking steps, life will do the same, and eventually if you push towards a vision and it will manifest before your eyes. I am living proof of that.
Contact Info:
- Email: nathaniel@freeluxproject.org
- Website: www.freeluxproject.org
- Instagram: @nathanielholleyofficial
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanielholleyofficial
Image Credits
Justin Christopher Jones
