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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1986)
The state of Lesbian/Gay health in America by Michael Helquist The AIDS epidemic has brought lesbian/ gay health care into the mainstream of American medicine, according to speakers at a recent national gay health conference, but with it has come escalating challenges to civil rights, health care delivery, and to the gay movement itself. And although AIDS domi nates the concerns of the country’s lesbian and gay population, other problems such as the high rate of substance abuse among gay people have emerged as critical issues. "As a community we’ve never been more challenged by a single event," observed Caitlin Ryan, president of the National Lesbian/Gay Health Foundation (NLGHF). More than 500 lesbian and gay health care providers gathered in Washington, D.C. March 13-16 to assess the health status of gay Americans. The three day conference was co-sponsored by NLGHF, George Washing ton University Medical Center, the National Institutes for Health, and the Centers for Dis ease Control. In addition to the American conference participants from 45 states, two dozen representatives from 10 countries presented the status of AIDS internationally. The Fourth National AIDS Forum coincided with this, the seventh, national health conference. Keynote Address Former Massachusetts state legislator Elaine Nobel, in her keynote address to the health conference, challenged gay people to ‘‘come out of hiding.” “We know that this is not a safe world for us, but we did not come into it for hiding,” Nobel advised. “We will all be better if we take risks.” Nobel was the nation’s first lesbian to ack nowledge her sexual preference while seek ing public office. She was elected twice to the state legislature. Nobel addressed another health crisis for gay people, one that has directly touched her life. “I have struggled with and have now achieved control of my problem with alco holism and drug abuse," Nobel revealed. She explained that her difficulties prompted her to help establish substance abuse service programs for other gay people. Nobel is now the president of the Pride Institute, a new inpa tient care facility in Minneapolis, designed to treat the substance abuse problems of les bians and gay men. Experts estimate that one-third of all ga> people in the United States have problems with alcohol and drug abuse; in comparison the rate is one-tenth for the general population “We know that this is not a safe world for us, but we did not com e into it for hiding,” Mobel advised. “We will all be better if we take risks.” Nobel and others at the conference em phasized that substance abuse weakens overall health and may act as a contributing factor in the development of AIDS conditions. Blood Test Controversy The announcement on the second day of the confernece by the Centers for Disease Control that people in high risk groups should submit to regular blood tests to detect infection with the AIDS virus generated anger and anxiety among the participants. Representatives from several of the nation’s AIDS organizations issued a statement op posing “any participation in a mass HTLV-III testing program.” The representatives asserted that the AIDS antibody test is not a diagnostic device and should not be used as one. They also argued that since no medical treatment is available for those who test positive, resources should not be diverted from basic education efforts and counseling programs already shown to be effective in changing behavior among high-risk populations. Supporters of the test ing believe that individuals who test positive will feel highly motivated to change their be haviors, lower their risk, and refrain from spreading the vims. Conference participants countered that “there is no proven positive correlation between knowing antibody status and changing behavior." A second statement from the conference dealt with another controversial issue, pornogrpahy and the portrayal of high risk sexual activities in erotic materials. Those who signed the statement said they recog nized that "erotic media are an important means by which many people learn and reinforce the patterns of their sexual expres sion.” As a result, the group encouraged "the erotica industry to join with us because we believe that together we can be more effec tive in the AIDS prevention effort" The state ment expressed concern as well about the risks facing actors, actresses, and models who work in the sex industry. Challenge from Minorities "If you do not help, we will organize ourselves and go af • er our own money, and we will fight you if necessary," warned Manuel Fimbres from San Jose State University. Fimbres offered cooperation with the gay- identified AIDS organizations but indicated that there have been very few attempts to date to reach people of color with AIDS education and information. He concluded, “We may not win the battle for funds, but we will embarrass you.” Calu Lester of San Francisco’s Shanti Pro ject suggested that there exists “a conspiracy of silence” between the minority communities who fail to recognize the existence of drug abuse and homosexuality in their midst and the AIDS organizations who fail to develop effective outreach to the minorities. “Each one of you in the audience can tell ten people every day for a month that 80% of the pediatric AIDS cases occur among black and brown children,” Lester exhorted. Gloria Rodriguez, a social worker for the state health department of New Jesey, voiced similar concerns. “Our communities are not being informed," she said. She explained that people of color fear that AIDS will keep them from joining mainstream American society. Rodriguez, who is of Cuban descent, as serted that community-based AIDS groups, many of them gay-identified, must find new ways to reach ethnic people. “Translating risk reduction brochures into Spanish is not enough," she noted. “That and nothing is the same thing.” Several staff members of AIDS organiza tions said privately that they were "about ready to give up" on minority outreach. They expressed frequent frustration in not being able to interest minority groups in their out reach plans. David Jolley, gay rights activist and AIDS worker from North Carolina, com mented that the minority outreach issue could become “explosive" for AIDS organi zations around the country. International Concerns Many of the 24 participants from foreign countries — representatives from Canada, Australia, and eight European nations — ex pressed disappointment and resentment that their concerns and ideas had received so little attention from the conference organizers. PEOPLE'S Several received notices of the conference too late to submit proposals for making pre sentations. As a result, the representatives met as a group a day after the conference concluded, and only two American observers were present Several of the representatives said the inci dence of AIDS in their countries was two to three years behind the rate of increase ex perienced in the United States. Yet AIDS is expected to become a major problem in each of the European nations, lain Mackie, MD, who works with the AIDS Committee of London, Ontario, observed that Canada’s current 500 AIDS cases is equivalent to 5000 cases in the United States when the differ ences in population is taken into account Few national governments have provided funding for AIDS education with the excep tion of Switzerland and Australia. Several participants said they found helpful the work shops on encouraging safe sex practices be cause very little had been done in their countries in this area. The international rep resentatives toyed with the idea of forming an international AIDS organization, but they finally decided that the action was premature since so many countries had yet to form their own national organizations. They did decide that future AIDS conferences, whoever sponsors them, should include representa tives from Asian and South American countries. Community Service Awards The board of directors of NLGHF acknowl edged with special community service awards the efforts of AIDS re searchers Mathilda Krim, MD and Paul Volberding, MD: AIDS lobbyists Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA), Gary McDonald, and Jeff Levi; lesbian health workers Charlotte Bunch, Patricia Robertson, MD, Lesley Anderson, MD, and Natalie Jane Woodman; film histo rian Vita Russo; Gay Men’s Health Crisis (New York) founder Paul Popham; and the Institute for the Protection of Lesbian and Gay Youth. The conference ended on an emotional note during a final general session when two dozen people with AIDS and ARC joined Bobby Reynolds of San Francisco on stage for a healing meditation. Reynolds first an nounced the election of officers for the Na tional People With AIDS/ARC organization, an idea generated more than two years ago. Then Reynolds began his guided meditation for the audience, an exercise that a few con sidered to be “very California" but most others welcomed as an opportunity to ack nowledge the intense feelings experienced by gay people during the last few years. The exercise later prompted a Canadian partici pant to comment “Until that event I hadn’t realized the overwhelming grief experienced by so many of the'Americans; now I under stand better why the mood has been sub dued here." Conference organizers announced that the next annual meeting will be held in Los Angeles. A N atural F ood S tore . Mens Resource Center Counseling Service G A Y T H E R A P IS T S • Professional Counseling • • • • Low Fees — Sliding Scale Individuals, Couples, Groups Hypnotherapy Evening & Weekend 235-3433 8 Problems .............We Can W ork It Out! A friendly place to shop, your neighborhood coop. • Fresh produce, mostly organically grown • Na hi nil groceries • Herbs, vitamins, body care • Northwest wines and imported beers • Bulk foods, wholesale buying for members Monday - Saturday 10-8, Sunday 12-7 302e) S E. 21st (One block north of Po\veII)/Bus -9051 Just Out. May. 198Ó J b V f V O M ,fv 0 *e
