AIDS activist Deloris Dockrey is having some successlobbying religious leaders in Newark, New Jersey, to discuss HIV preventionwith their congregations, NJ.com reports.

According to the article, Dockrey was diagnosed with HIV in1994. She has since earned a master’s degree in public health and now heads theOne Conversation program at the New Jersey–based Hyacinth AIDS Foundation.

As part of her outreach work, Dockrey travels to churchesthroughout the Newark area giving presentations and organizing testing centers.She urges religious leaders to talk about safer sex, needle exchange programsand early detection.

One in 47 people in Newark is living with HIV/AIDS. And one in62 African Americans in New Jersey is living with HIV/AIDS compared with one in705 whites, according to the city’s Department of Health and Senior Services.