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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
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After 20 years,
not all things are
changing.... Stigma,
isolation ana fear
are out there.
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