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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2001)
14 'junfl1.2QQ1 ITirmPTRSIneti's M aking FUN As the AIDS epidemic turns 20, a Portland man works to make life a little easier for kids by Jon ath an K ipp Intimate ? T i r e d of Bi g C h u r c h ? 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PHOTO BY y ¡o u w an t to ot long after Sean C o x le a r n e d /his dad was HIV-positive he had a cathartic moment while sitting among thousands oPpeople lis tening to an Elton John concert in the mid- 1990s. When the per former dedicated one of his songs to “my brothers and sisters living with AIDS,” it touched some thing deep inside Cox, and he completely broke down. Cox never had heard the words “living” and “AIDS” in the same sen tence. Like most young Americans, he had grown up thinking AIDS did, in fact, equal Sean Cox formed For U s Northwest to help young people infected death. with and affected by H IV He says that evening changed his life. He realized he didn’t have to be zens think sharing a drinking glass can transmit ashamed, he didn’t have to hide, and he could HIV. About 16 percent think touching a toilet have some hope. seat can or might transmit HIV. However, the As the AIDS epidemic approaches its 20- study shows U.S. citizens are aware of the pain year anniversary June 5, Cox readily admits people with HIV/AIDS endure: 84 percent think good things have happened since he found out they still face “some” or “a lot o f’ prejudice and his father was one of millions infected with HIV. discrimination. For starters, young people infected with and Cox says that is why his organization is so affected by HIV know they don’t have to be important. He says he sees the impact the work alone anymore. has on kids’ lives. When Cox co-founded For Us Northwest in “It’s that they are able to feel safe,” Cox says. 1999, he started reaching out to other young “There’s nothing better...than to be able to feel people affected by the epidemic— both HIV they can be themselves.” positive youngsters and those who have family Erica (not her real name) told Cox all she members with the disease. Before the organiza wanted from For Us Northwest was to have a tion formed, Portland had no specific services slumber party. Both the little girl and her mom for youth. are HIV-positive and had the bottles of medica With Cox at the helm, For Us Northwest tion on their kitchen countertops to prove it. quickly went from raising $700 in cash the first She was always too afraid to have friends over, year to gaining official nonprofit status with a fearing they’d find out the family’s secret. budget of $145,000. He is now the paid execu “She never felt safe enough to have a slum tive director. ber party,” Cox The group provides support through social explains. “This activities for 3- to 24-year-olds. A total of 20 girl just wanted youth participate: one-third are HIV-positive, to be 11. She 65 percent have lost at least one loved one to didn’t want to be AIDS, about one-third are children of color, and ‘the kid with two-thirds are male. AIDS.’ ” Cox also sits on the Portland Area HIV Ser But after con vices Planning Council. He says he’s met with necting with For workers who have been active for the entire 20 Us Northwest years of the epidemic. Some admit they never (better known by children as FUN), Erica start have given much thought to the challenges ed making friends and getting stronger. She faced by children affected by HIV/AIDS. Cox eventually did have that slumber party. says his organization is helping change that. Cox chuckles as he recalls young Erica “What’s most exciting for us is having an extending an invitation even to him. “To be able open and strong communication with agencies,” to provide that for kids...well, there’s no way to he says. “It’s incredibly encouraging.” put a value on that.” But after 20 years, not all things are changing. Cox says that when his dad was diagnosed in Cox has talked to young people from throughout 1985, he was told he wouldn’t see his children’s the country. He says he is amazed that stigma, graduation or wedding. He prepared to die. isolation and fear still are out there. Kids contin But Jim Cox did see his son graduate from Port ue to get kicked out of school and are ostracized land State University a few years back. And coming up June 30 he will watch Sean get married. JF1 by their peers and their communities. A recent study by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation reveals at least part of the reason To volunteer, make a donation or team more about people with HIV/AIDS still are being stigma F or U s N orthwest call 503-777-4903, ext. I , tized. The research shows one in five U.S. citi- or send e-mail to fnrusinc@hotmail.com. I
