MAYi;o?9 13.
OREGON S GAY/LESBIAN/BI/TRANS NEWSMAGAZINE
NEWS
MAY
SPECIAL
Strength in Numbers
Includes deluxe guest room,
two Mineral Bath & Wraps, and
your choice of wine, champagne,
HIV-Positive Volunteers Put Their Names -
and Status-on the Line for Project 150*
By Ashley Flanagan
Oregon turns 150 this year, and people
across the state are coming out to celebrate
- including some Oregonians who too often
stay hidden.
Cascade AIDS Project is contributing to
■ the sesquicentennial festivities with an event
called Project 150+: Screw Stigma! On May
16, HIV-positive volunteers will meet to
beautify Portland by cleaning up litter and
graffiti. It’s part of Down By The Riverside,
a statewide event for environmental service
projects sponsored annually by Stop Oregon
Litter &. Vandalism.
But the Project 150+ workers will be doing
something that sets them apart from other
volunteers that day. The whole time, they’ll
be wearing t-shirts that announce their HIV
status to the world.
There’s no fundraising aspect (although
donations to defray costs can be made at
cascadeaids.org). The goal is “letting the
community know that we are here and we
are productive,” says Maralyn Gill, one of the
event’s organizers. “We’re all different walks
of life, and we all have HIV.”
It’s not a low-profile event: Former Gov
ernor Barbara Roberts, a member of Cascade
AIDS Project’s Board of Advisors, will give an
opening speech, along with the organization’s
executive director, Michael Kaplan. “We in
vited media to the event,” says intern Mike
Lamore. “We told people to be prepared for
having your photo in the Oregonian."
The organizers know firsthand what an
important decision they’re asking people to
make. Volunteer Eric Schaffer, who lost his
job after being diagnosed with HIV, says that
when he was approached about helping orga
nize Project 150+, “My first answer was no
way,’ because I didn’t want to be interviewed.
I didn’t want to be in the press at this level.”
But he changed his mind for a famil
iar reason. “I don’t want to hide in another
closet,” he says. “Coming out as a gay man
was challenging enough at one point in my
life, and HIV status is very much the same.
“Everyone I’ve talked to has their own
stigma story,” Schaffer adds. “Some people
were diagnosed and didn’t leave their homes
for four years,, never wanted to go outside.
Some people didn’t want to seek health care.”
And that, organizers say, is why what
they’re doing is so crucial. “It’s about reducing
the stigma,” says Lamore. “It’s about chang
ing the perception, changing the face of HIV
in Oregon.”
Too often, Lamore points out, HIV is still
seen as a disease of young gay men. “So much
of the work in Portland is done by gay guys,”
he says. “We wanted to show what HIV really
is.” Cascade AIDS Project is working with
other HIV advocacy and support groups, such
as Women of Wisdom at the Quest Center
for Integrated Health, to encourage under-
represented groups like women and people of
color to come out for the event.
Gill, a grandmother of six who was 49
when she was diagnosed, knows from per
sonal experience the danger of thinking of
HIV as a disease that attacks a particular
demographic. After her husband’s death, she
thought she was too old to worry about safe
sex. “Of course I couldn’t get pregnant; I never
even thought about it,” she says.
“I don’t wont to hide in
another closet. Coming
out os o go/ mon was
challenging enough at
one point in my life, and
HIV status is very much
the same."
-ERIC SCHAFFER,
A PROJECT 150* VOLUNTEER
Due to her age and gender, her HIV
symptoms went misdiagnosed as menopause
for three years. “This is why I’m becoming
such an advocate,” she explains.
In addition to the HIV-positive volun
teers, people who don’t have HIV - or aren’t
ready to make their status public - can regis
ter as support volunteers. They’ll be checking
in workers, taking photos, bringing water and
snacks - and providing invaluable emotional
aid.
“Once you have support, you can do
wonders,” says Gill. Having been diagnosed
in Belize, where HIV is even more heavily
stigmatized than in the U.S., she knows the
importance of open, supportive communities.
“As long as you’ve got support, you can make
it through this. It’s a real intricate part of
healing with HIV.”
Since February, more than 50 HIV-posi
tive volunteers have registered, as well as 18
support volunteers. Organizers hope to reach
150 volunteers, and they’re optimistic. “If we
don’t make it, we’ll get close,” says Lamore.
But Schaffer emphasizes that what they’ve
already accomplished is a victory in itself. “If
we get 150 people, fantastic, but if we only get
55, no one can say we failed,” he says.
The message is still clear: “We’re part of
the community,” Schaffer says. “We love Or
egon, we want to-contribute, and HIV status
doesn’t have to set us apart.’
Project 150+ takes place Saturday, May 16,
from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Volunteers 'will meet by
Shemanski Fountain, at SW Park Ave. and SW
Salmon St. in Portland. To register or get more
info, visit cascadeaids.org.
A pre-event discussion about disclosure in a
public setting is scheduled May 11, 6-8 pm, at
the Mens Wellness Center, 928 SW Stark.
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