A city councilman for Bridgeport has announced that he has HIV in hopes to end the stigma against the disease.

Jorge Cruz says he's had HIV since 1997 and at the time, he was addicted to heroin and contracted the virus through sharing needles.

Cruz tells News 12 that for years, he lived in fear of people finding out about his status - but those days are over.

He'll be the keynote speaker at the World AIDS Day event at the Bridgeport Holiday Inn on Wednesday. He says he wants to give hope to other people with HIV who are still struggling.