A Walton man said he thought he'd be dead in 10 years after learning of his HIV status.
Graeme Lavery was diagnosed with the virus when he was 27-years-old.
Now 36, the textile artist remembers his views on HIV at the start was still "very ignorant" compared to now.
READ MORE: Nurse who worked through height of HIV crisis says Liverpool was at the forefront of education
He told the ECHO: "I remember when I got diagnosed I said to the sexual health advisor that I would be dead within 10 years.
"She told me I was being silly and if I took my pill everyday that I would be fined and I could get on with my life. But even that in itself was hard for me to understand because of the misinformation that is out there."
Graeme said his earliest memory of the virus was through watching EastEnders, when Mark Fowler became the first mainstream soap character to be diagnosed with HIV. The storyline came after a government request to "spread the word."
He explained that when he attended school, Section 28, the legislation that prohibited the 'promotion' of homosexuality, was still in place so he had little knowledge about HIV.
That was until he met a group of social workers who set up a LGBT+ youth group called Young Gay Sefton (YGS).
He said: "They basically put their necks out to provide safe spaces for young people, giving them support, information and a chance to meet others.
"I got my education through them and because of Section 28 it was really controversial but it if it wasn't for them being so outgoing I don't think I would ever got that support. People were losing their jobs and careers just because they were helping others."
Graeme was once told he was a "criminal" and "a murder" who was putting others at risk.
However, with developments in treatment and medicine, those living with HIV can achieve an undetectable status commonly referred to as 'U=U', meaning they cannot pass the virus onto others.
At the time of his diagnosis, Graeme sought help from Sahir House.
The Merseyside based charity helped Graeme with with his mental wellbeing through counselling as it gave him the opportunity to talk through his internalised homophobia as well as learning how to disclose his status to others and how to navigate his way around relationships.
Still to this day, the charity is working to end the stigma around the virus.
Serena Cavanagh, health promotion lead at Sahir House, said: "For over 35 years, Sahir House has been providing safe and confidential support in Merseyside for people living with HIV and those marginalised and vulnerable because of their related intersectionality’s such as asylum status, ethnicity, gender and sexuality."
This week marks the UK’s annual National HIV Testing Week which encourages the public to know their status.
Axess Sexual Health told the ECHO that one in 20 people living with HIV in Cheshire and Merseyside are unaware and therefore are increasing the risk of health problems and passing HIV on to sexual partners.
Dr Martyn Wood, consultant in HIV medicine at Axess Sexual Health, said: "In 2020 in Liverpool nearly half of people first diagnosed with HIV were diagnosed late, meaning that they were at risk of poor health outcomes.
"We all have an HIV status either positive, negative or unknown. HIV testing week aims to reduce the number of people who don't know their status.”
As part of the week, free HIV test kits are being made available to the public by the NHS and anyone who is sexually active is being encouraged to take a test.
Alternatively, you can book into one of the Axess Sexual Health clinics based in Liverpool, Knowsley, Warrington, Runcorn and Cheshire East.
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