Sherry Saltus is a woman on a mission.

The 45-year-old grandmother, who has had AIDS for more than a decade, wants to convince young people to slow down when it comes to sex and to face up to the reality that they are not invincible.

Ms Saltus, who contracted the disease through a blood transfusion after her youngest son was delivered via Caesarean section, says that rebuilding families is also essential.

And she fears that if her message does not get through, Bermuda could experience a fresh HIV/AIDS epidemic.

"I want young people to open their eyes and think for a minute or two," she said yesterday. "It's also important that parents instil a sense of patience and love, to let young people know that family is important. Bermuda is not so family oriented anymore, we're struggling as a community to hold our young people's lives together.

"Drugs play a big factor, young men and women are having sex for drugs and money. AIDS is real, it's on the rise right now and as a community we don't seem to be prepared for it," she said.

"Those out there who are living with the disease are angry and do not have anywhere to go.

"This isn't just about the Government telling people to slap on a condom, we've got to get to the core of the problem and deal with the family, how the family functions and how it can stay together regardless of what happens.

"We all have to pitch in you can't just say go and use a condom ? these children are hurting, we have to keep our families close knit and if we do that we can prevent a lot."

Ms Saltus does not fit the stereotype of a person with HIV/AIDS.

She is physically fit and starts each day with a bike ride. She spends most of her time studying at the Bermuda College for a degree as well as drawing and writing.

But treating her condition comes at cost. She must take 11 pills a day including new drug Kaletra. That is down from the cocktail of 17 drugs a day she had to take several years ago.

The 45-year-old grandmother also spends plenty of time educating young people about the importance of slowing down when it comes to having sex and using condoms.

She gives presentations at schools and community centres and is keen to encourage young people to make healthy decisions.

Ms Saltus also believes men and women are not honest about their sexual relationships as they could be ? a factor she believes is leading to a rise in the disease among women as men pursue underground homosexual or bisexual relationships without their partners knowledge.

?We have a lot of men here who are having sex with young boys, they?re going to clubs, getting them drunk, they?re having sex and they?re lost.

?It?s undercover homosexuality ? these men are having a girlfriend just for show,? she said. ?You?d be surprised by the amount of young Bermudian males who are homosexual.?

Ms Saltus, who first went public about living with AIDS several years ago, lives at the Lighthouse and is studying to complete her college degree to become a geriatric aide.

After raising her own children, Ms Saltus said she is familiar with the duties of modern parents which include protecting young people for as long as possible in a ?sex-crazed? culture.

Although she herself abstains from having sex, she said you only have to turn on the television to see provocative dancing on local channels, sex scenes in movies, or commercials with sexual undertones.

?You look at these young girls and you see the miniskirts, the heels, you only have to turn on the television to see that sex sells,? she said.

?Everything?s a rush to them, it?s a hurry, they just want to get it and that?s it. Everyone?s looking for love, love?s a constant theme that keeps everyone looking for, they want a place to belong.?

While Ms Saltus has gotten over the initial fear of living with AIDS and she said she is not afraid of the future, she hopes to make a lasting contribution with her artwork and her writing.

In the days after she learned she had contracted the disease, Ms Saltus didn?t want to go on with life, but her thoughts at the moment are focused on sharing the story of her own life so that it will inspire others.

?I want to leave my book, a lasting part of me that I hope to leave behind.

?I want it to help a whole lot of people, it?s about romance, your power to heal your own body, I?ve paved the road for those behind me and I hope it really will help us.?