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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2004)
____________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ October 1.2004»J—» t o u t|17 urn mews HIV S tops with T hem Positive men make positive impact by K a th y Beige L San Diego, Boston, San Fran raled downward. For the first time he cisco and Los Angeles. Oregon was able to experiment with his launched its campaign in June. latent bisexuality. “I knew I wasn’t playing safe.... I The fiKus of "HIV Stops just didn’t give a damn," he says. “I with Me” is the individual sto was suicidal anyway.” ries of each of the men. Walk During one of his hospitaliza er, 53, has been openly dealing tions, Van Vleck asked to he tested with HIV since 1988. He for HIV. He suspected he was posi buried two lovers who died tive because he had been feeling ill from AIDS-related illnesses for some time, having night sweats hut has remained healthy with and diarrhea. HIV for more than 16 years. When the test came back posi “Those of us who are posi tive, “I thought: ‘My little world is tive can play a role in stop over. Why go on?’ ” ping the disease,” he says. But with the help of the down Walker, who is African town HIV Health Services Center, American, says that especially Van Vleck was finally able to get in that community, there is medication to help him manage his still a stigma surrounding mental illness. He found out about HIV. “ Folks who may be “ HIV Stops with Me” from an ad forthcoming with their sexual placed in Just Out. orientation may not be with “I just wanted to do something,” their HIV status,” he notes. he says. “I haven’t been able to hold a Walker is hoping that by steady job for some time. My message being such a public face of is to other positive people, ‘Make it HIV that those in the stop with you.’ ” African American communi He says that even though he ty will begin to talk about the discloses his HIV status, men still disease and take action to invite him to have unsafe sex with stop its spread. “Having a face him. “ I’m not going to let someone that looks like them will else who doesn’t give a shit get it off make them stop and think. o f me.” I’m hoping people will see me The campaign acknowledges that and take notice of the mes Clockwise from top left, John Motter, Jeffery Van Vleck, Chris High and keeping negative people negative sage I am trying to convey," Jerry Walker were chosen as local spokesmodels for the “ H IV Stops with should not be the only goal of HIV Walker says. Me” campaign prevention. Even people like Motter, The campaign’s message is who knew how to keep himself safe to encourage those who are and who watched friends die from A ID S, got that is necessarily dangerous or had, hut it can HIV-positive to wear condoms, disclose their infected with the virus. lead to adverse consequences.” status and take responsibility for drug use. “I graduated from Howard University. I grad Mitch Zahn, Oregon HIV prevention man Van Vleck, 34, stmggled with anxiety and uated summa cum laude. I’m not a dumb person, depression most of his life growing up in mral ager, says the state’s campaign is aimed at men but I certainly made some really stupid choices,” who have sex with other men because 70 per Washington G>unty. Ravaged hy feelings of guilt he says. cent of new cases of HIV in Oregon are gay and about sexual abuse he experienced as a child, he But thanks to “ HIV Stops with Me,” Motter bisexual men. The campaign plans to add a tried to kill himself twice when he was 14- and other HIV-positive men and women can Although he struggled with inner demons, he was Latino man and a woman as spokesmodels later able to live a fairly stable life for a time. He mar help others make the smart choice to stop the this year. ried and had two children and owned his own con spread of the disease. JH Beyond safer sex, the campaign looks at struction business. But at age 30 his world cracked. other stigmas in the gay community: drug use, racism and mental health issues. “As a culture Suicidal thoughts resurfaced. He had anxi For more information about die HIV STOPS WITH M e cam paign, visit uww.hivstopswithme.org. and a stereotype, the gay population is very ety attacks and bouts of depression. He spent much partying and doing meth and having sex,” time in and out of psychiatric hospitals. His KATHY B e lg e is a Portland free-lance writer. marriage of 10 years ended, and Van Vleck spi says Motter. “People don’t view it as something ike most of the gay men he associated with, John Motter liked to party. Coke, alcohol, pot, ecstasy and crys tal methamphetamine were all readi ly available. If you had told him 10 years ago, when he was a certified public accountant at one of the country’s most presti gious accounting finns, that his drug use would lead to illnesses and jail time, he never would have believed you. After a routine physical for insurance cover age in 1998, Motter, now 42, tested positive for HIV. He also found out he had hepatitis C. It wasn’t long before he became so ill from the hepatitis that he was forced to go on disability. With his liver in danger, he began the pre scribed course of treatment for the disease. Sim ilar to chemotherapy, its effects on the body are devastating. Motter slept 14 to 20 hours a day and experienced extreme joint pain. He lost his appetite, some of his hair and more than 35 pounds. Just getting out of bed to attend to the daily tasks of living seemed impossible. Motter began to use crystal meth to give him enough energy just to counter the side effects of the medicine and to attend to his life. It wasn’t long before he was injecting meth and was addicted to the drug. He began hanging out with other addicts, and they started passing fraudulent checks and money orders to pay for their habits. Eventually Motter was arrested with six other gay, HIV-positive men and spent 13 months in prison. Now Motter is out of jail, off drugs and trying to help prevent the spread of HIV. He recently joined HIV-positive men and women from around the country as part of a frank new media campaign meant to slow the spread of the epidemic. Up until now, most HIV prevention cam paigns have targeted those who are negative. The new campaign, “HIV Stops with Me,” is aimed at HIV-positive people, acknowledging the role those who are positive have in stopping the spread of the disease. In Oregon, four gay and bisexual men— Motter, Jerry Walker, Jeffery Van Vleck and Chris High— were chosen to he the face of HIV. Other cities have spokesmodels who represent the demographic of the epidemic in those places. With posters in bars, newspaper ads, postcards and an interactive Web site, “HIV Stops with Me” has already been launched in cities including OUR PLANTS ARE 6 ON THE KINSEY SCALE T h ro u g h th e w o n d e rs of s c ie n c e fre e R A P ID H IV T E S T IN G is now a v a ila b le for g a y and bi m en . 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