Professor E. Patrick Johnson addresses the question, "What is justice for the Black Gay Man?" at the "Justice for All?" community forum sponsored by the Chicago Black Gay Men's Caucus LifeLube's Project CRYSP, Communities of Color Collaborative and Test Positive Aware Network, in honor of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Thursday, January 28th, at The University Center.
More on this forum (including news articles), and other forums involving Project CRYSP can be found here, on LifeLube.
Check out the Keith Boykin clip, from the same forum.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
LifeLube pal (and new PACHA member) Cornelius Baker and his amazing journey
I hate when people in our community say, "Oh, I'm so old." Much of the work that we've been doing for the past few decades with AIDS is so that people can get old.
A. Cornelius Baker has gone from arts to advocacy, from the White House to Whitman-Walker, and is ready for more.
via Metro Weekly, by Will O'Bryan
Peruse A. Cornelius Baker's résumé, and you might get more than you bargained for. Sure, you knew he worked for the George H.W. Bush administration or that he once headed the Whitman-Walker Clinic. You may even be familiar with his work for former Councilmember Carol Schwartz (R-At Large).
You might not be as likely to know he's serving as the national policy advisor for the National Black Gay Men's Advocacy Coalition, or working as communications advisor and project director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases HIV Vaccine Research Education Initiative. Baker is the board chair of the Black AIDS Institute. He works with Us Helping US and the Campaign for All DC Families. That he's a trustee with Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, might be a bit more obvious -- after all, in school he was a self-professed "theater queen." He started political life as a Republican and is now a happily registered Democrat. And by the way, the "A." stands for Antonio.
On and on. The Baker file is thick.
"It's important to meet one's obligations," he says plainly, "to your family and your society. I do what I can. Sometimes I do it well, sometimes I don't. But it's really important to make the effort."
And although he wasn't able to make much of an effort to mark National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Feb. 7, instead trying to make his way back to D.C. from work-related meetings in San Francisco amid the mid-Atlantic's blizzard, the message of the month -- Black History Month -- certainly isn't lost on him.
"Whether it's Martin Luther King Day or National Black HIV/AIDS Awarness Day or Black History Month, it's important to reflect on who we are as a people, where we come from, what our goals and visions are, and of course to celebrate our families and our progress. But I think it's also important to find ways to keep the work moving forward, to keep the progress moving forward. Our obligation while we're here is really to make things better for the next generation. That's something during this month to really commit ourselves to."
Read the rest.
A. Cornelius Baker has gone from arts to advocacy, from the White House to Whitman-Walker, and is ready for more.
via Metro Weekly, by Will O'Bryan
Peruse A. Cornelius Baker's résumé, and you might get more than you bargained for. Sure, you knew he worked for the George H.W. Bush administration or that he once headed the Whitman-Walker Clinic. You may even be familiar with his work for former Councilmember Carol Schwartz (R-At Large).
You might not be as likely to know he's serving as the national policy advisor for the National Black Gay Men's Advocacy Coalition, or working as communications advisor and project director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases HIV Vaccine Research Education Initiative. Baker is the board chair of the Black AIDS Institute. He works with Us Helping US and the Campaign for All DC Families. That he's a trustee with Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, might be a bit more obvious -- after all, in school he was a self-professed "theater queen." He started political life as a Republican and is now a happily registered Democrat. And by the way, the "A." stands for Antonio.
On and on. The Baker file is thick.
"It's important to meet one's obligations," he says plainly, "to your family and your society. I do what I can. Sometimes I do it well, sometimes I don't. But it's really important to make the effort."
And although he wasn't able to make much of an effort to mark National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Feb. 7, instead trying to make his way back to D.C. from work-related meetings in San Francisco amid the mid-Atlantic's blizzard, the message of the month -- Black History Month -- certainly isn't lost on him.
"Whether it's Martin Luther King Day or National Black HIV/AIDS Awarness Day or Black History Month, it's important to reflect on who we are as a people, where we come from, what our goals and visions are, and of course to celebrate our families and our progress. But I think it's also important to find ways to keep the work moving forward, to keep the progress moving forward. Our obligation while we're here is really to make things better for the next generation. That's something during this month to really commit ourselves to."
Read the rest.
HIV Services Face Foreclosure: Will Illinois Leaders Come to the Rescue?
Unless immediate actions are taken to remedy the state's spiraling budget crisis, vital HIV/AIDS services -- along with the state's educational, healthcare, and human service systems assisting millions of vulnerable children, families, disabled, elderly, and chronically ill individuals -- will be put in serious jeopardy.
The welfare of millions of Illinoisans is on the line, requiring unprecedented state leadership. Will lawmakers step up and fight for the people of Illinois?Read the whole item.
Feel the Love... Sister Glo channels Carter Heyward
Love, like truth and beauty, is concrete.
Love is not fundamentally a sweet feeling;
not, at heart, a matter of sentiment,
attachment, or being "drawn toward."
Love is active, effective, a matter of making reciprocal
and mutually beneficial relation
with one's friends and enemies.
Sister Glo shares her glittery gems of love with LifeLube each Friday.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Keith Boykin: Justice is hindered by "Internalized Oppression"
In this video, renowned TV Host/Author/Speaker Keith Boykin addresses the question, "What is justice for the Black Gay Man?" at the "Justice for All?" community forum sponsored by the Chicago Black Gay Men's Caucus, LifeLube's Project CRYSP, Communities of Color Collaborative and Test Positive Aware Network, in honor of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Thursday, January 28th, at The University Center.
E. Patrick Johnson clip, same forum.
More on this forum (including news articles), and other forums involving Project CRYSP can be found here, on LifeLube.
GMHC Report Explores Alternatives to Lifetime MSM Ban
We hope the report will encourage the FDA to revise its guidelines to be more in step with current technology and to avoid reinforcing stigma.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) currently bans any man who had sex with another man (MSM), even once, since 1977 from donating blood. The policy does not consider the potential donor's HIV status, frequency or risk of sexual activity, or if he is in a monogamous relationship. Today, Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) released a report, A Drive for Change: Reforming U.S. Blood Donation Policies, detailing the history of the policy, efforts towards revision, and analysis of alternative donation criteria.
Advances in HIV screening of blood supplies since the 1980s make the chance of receiving a unit of HIV infected blood one in 1.5 million. Guidance, for most donors, takes into account the "window period," the short period after HIV infection whereby a HIV screening would not detect infection.
Current FDA guidance includes a questionnaire of potential blood donors that asks 48 questions about current health status, medical history, blood donation history, sexual practices, drug use, and other behaviors. But risk factors are not uniformly applied. A heterosexual donor who has had sex with a knowingly HIV-positive partner 366 days ago would be eligible for donation. By contrast, a man who has had sex with another man, regardless of the frequency, safe sex practices involved, or duration since the episode, is denied for life.
"Across the country, we experience critical shortfalls of blood supplies on a consistent basis," said Janet Weinberg, Chief Operating Officer at GMHC. "Yet only five percent (or less) of Americans that are able to donate blood do so. We call on the FDA to re-examine discriminatory policies that categorically exclude potential blood donors, including gay and bisexual men," added Weinberg.
The report analyzes alternative recommendations for blood donation by gay and bisexual men using a comprehensive framework to assess actual risk of HIV transmission and increased availability of blood supplies. The framework, called "DONATE," provides a way to understand how the use of advanced technology and objective screening standards can decrease the risk faced by recipients of blood products, while at the same time reducing the discriminatory impact on MSM, expanding the pool of blood donors (thereby reducing the potential for blood shortages), and raising awareness of HIV/AIDS risk among donors in general, regardless of sexual orientation or gender.
GMHC thanks Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP (Davis Polk) for their immense contribution in researching and writing this report. "We believe it is important to help GMHC highlight the current challenges with FDA blood donation guidelines," said Joseph Wardenski, a former Davis Polk associate and primary author of the report. "We hope the report will encourage the FDA to revise its guidelines to be more in step with current technology and to avoid reinforcing stigma," added Wardenski.
Click here for the report.
Can spirituality enhance the lives of gay men living with HIV? [part 2 in a series]
Observing Research Trends
Since the onset of HIV/AIDS, medical and behavioral researchers have focused their energy on the physical, psychological, social, and socioeconomic ramifications of HIV/AIDS. However, with respect to HIV+ gay men, spirituality as a coping style has been neglected. Why?
By Anthony Oltean MSW LCSW CADC* [Essay #2]
Read Essay #1
Multiple factors may account for this neglect in research. Both social science researchers and therapeutic clinicians tend to be less religious than the general population. Religion seems to be taboo in research and health care settings.
One possible explanation for its avoidance can be that some clinicians fear imposing a system of beliefs or values onto their patients. The construct of spirituality is often considered vague, difficult to operationalize and therefore difficult to build empirical support for specific measures. And lastly, researchers may not want to be associated with the less empirical or “softer” science.
All and all, there remains considerable debate regarding the definitions of religion and spirituality. Given the abstract nature of these concepts, they are often criticized as overlapping and non-mutually exclusive. Characteristics inherent to religion may also be found in spirituality, and vice versa.
For example, both spirituality and religion may involve a sense of personal transformation, an encounter with transcendence, or a search for ultimate truth or an ultimate reality that is sacred to the individual. However, the research literature tends to regard religion as the institutional and doctrinal expression of faith. In contrast, spirituality has been observed leaning predominately toward beliefs, activities, and experiences referring to the personal connection to sacred beliefs.
Documentation of the gay community’s exploration toward several spiritual and religious avenues (such as Dignity for Catholics) practices or new spiritualities altogether (such as shamanism, and earth-spirit faiths, etc) are emerging in the social science literature. However, the positive relationship of spirituality and religion to mental health is less clear for gay individuals when compared to the literature describing their heterosexual counterparts.
As indicated in the limited literature on this topic, the integration of a sexual identity with a traditional religious faith is typically portrayed as a struggle. Gay men are typically left abandoning or being abandoned by their faith in the process of developing and securing an openly gay identity. These individual’s struggles often overlap those of the organized religions themselves, particularly over the ordination of openly gay and lesbian clergy and support for same-sex marriages.
Difficulties from integrating concepts of spirituality and sexual orientation don’t only play out externally and/or socially. Many gay individuals do report internal conflict between their religious faith and sexual orientation. Further, these conflicts are associated with increased shame, depression, suicidal ideation, and difficulty accepting a positive gay identity.
Gay individuals who are members of faith communities that frame homosexuality in a negative light face significant distress when attempting to reconcile the two identities, often furthering a sense of learned shame, hopelessness, and damnation. Given the fact that the majority of mainline Protestant, Catholic, Islamic, and Judaic traditions strictly prohibit any desires or behaviors of homosexuality. When homosexuality is not outwardly condemned in traditional religious activities, it is rarely embraced as a viable sexual orientation. Gay parishioners and their relationships typically remain unacknowledged and invisible.
In additional, some religious messages perpetuate that mythos that the HIV/AIDS crisis was caused by God’s divine retribution for homosexuality. Because gay men and intravenous drug users were the first populations to enter societal awareness as AIDS sufferers, this disease has never fully escaped the moral judgments and scrutiny. Lack of immediate response to current minorities (non-gay men) impacted by HIV/AIDS has exemplified an ever-present sense of degradation to this disease by the U.S. government. Researchers have reported that many patients encounter stigmatizing experiences among religious congregations because of such attitudes.
In response to heterosexist, hetero-normative, and/or unwelcoming religious institutions, HIV+ gay men, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) affirming faith communities have evolved. Either by altering traditional denomination’s doctrine to be inclusive (e.g., Dignity for LGBT Catholics) or creating entirely new denominations (from traditional religious ones) specifically serving the LGBT community (e.g., Rev. Troy Perry and the Metropolitan Community Church MCC), these communities are present in most major cities in America.
As a result of these and other movements toward greater inclusiveness, LGBT individuals are experiencing increased opportunities (perhaps unlike any other point in history) for integrating their sexual orientation with their religious or spiritual beliefs. Although research and anecdotal literature have explored the conflict between sexual and religious/spiritual identity, minimal empirical research has investigated the role of affirming faith group experiences on the spiritual and mental health of gay men.
As discussed briefly above, the literature indicates that many LGBT individuals, including HIV+ gay men, have reported negative experiences with their faith groups. These experiences have lead to an elimination of formal religion (such as church/temple attendance) from their lives. Unfortunately, spirituality as a coping style is also eliminated.
However, many who leave their traditional faith find spiritual growth by redefining their spiritual and/or religious beliefs and practices. From this, LGBT and HIV+ gay men are provided with a sense of spiritual awakening. Likewise, LGBT and HIV+ gay men who are lucky enough to find affirmation in their formal/traditional faith groups might feel that affirmation enhances both their spirituality and their psychological health (particularly when combating negative feedback and/or homophobia from the larger society).
Given the developing distinction between organized religion and spirituality, it is necessary to consider them separate constructs as they relate to psychological health. Because spirituality can be seen as distinct from religion, developing a sense of spirituality separate from more formalized experiences with their faith groups may mediate the effect of negative religious experiences on the psychological health of these individuals. This can prove particularly useful and advantages for individuals living with HIV/AIDS that have felt that a relationship with a God or higher power was no longer an option for them, and not able to benefit from spiritual coping mechanisms.
In the next essay installment, the science behind how spirituality can benefit HIV + gay men will be discussed. Stay tuned.
Ask Anthony for his references.
Share your comments below.
Click to take an anonymous survey on HIV/spirituality.
* After a hiatus from all religion, coming out, building myself into a proud man (all of which were challenging chapters), I have only recently begun to reconcile my feelings about a higher power and their place in my life. I know that many young LGBTQ people have had experienced similar, and often much worse, messages from religious figures in their lives. Many have turned away from religion and/or any spirituality because of these experiences. This is a great injustice. Spirituality, at a minimum, is an important coping skill for millions of people around the world. Many of those people are LGBTQ’s. However, researchers in the behavioral sciences have only begun to explore its utility for LGBTQ’s with regards to self-esteem, coping with chronic illness such as HIV/AIDS, and coping with an oppressive society. The following essays are part of my dissertation. They will discuss spirituality as a coping style, how it works, the academic dilemmas in examining these topics, and will hopefully spark more interest from researchers, and those of us still in hiatus from spirituality.
Since the onset of HIV/AIDS, medical and behavioral researchers have focused their energy on the physical, psychological, social, and socioeconomic ramifications of HIV/AIDS. However, with respect to HIV+ gay men, spirituality as a coping style has been neglected. Why?
By Anthony Oltean MSW LCSW CADC* [Essay #2]
Read Essay #1
Multiple factors may account for this neglect in research. Both social science researchers and therapeutic clinicians tend to be less religious than the general population. Religion seems to be taboo in research and health care settings.
One possible explanation for its avoidance can be that some clinicians fear imposing a system of beliefs or values onto their patients. The construct of spirituality is often considered vague, difficult to operationalize and therefore difficult to build empirical support for specific measures. And lastly, researchers may not want to be associated with the less empirical or “softer” science.
All and all, there remains considerable debate regarding the definitions of religion and spirituality. Given the abstract nature of these concepts, they are often criticized as overlapping and non-mutually exclusive. Characteristics inherent to religion may also be found in spirituality, and vice versa.
For example, both spirituality and religion may involve a sense of personal transformation, an encounter with transcendence, or a search for ultimate truth or an ultimate reality that is sacred to the individual. However, the research literature tends to regard religion as the institutional and doctrinal expression of faith. In contrast, spirituality has been observed leaning predominately toward beliefs, activities, and experiences referring to the personal connection to sacred beliefs.
Documentation of the gay community’s exploration toward several spiritual and religious avenues (such as Dignity for Catholics) practices or new spiritualities altogether (such as shamanism, and earth-spirit faiths, etc) are emerging in the social science literature. However, the positive relationship of spirituality and religion to mental health is less clear for gay individuals when compared to the literature describing their heterosexual counterparts.
As indicated in the limited literature on this topic, the integration of a sexual identity with a traditional religious faith is typically portrayed as a struggle. Gay men are typically left abandoning or being abandoned by their faith in the process of developing and securing an openly gay identity. These individual’s struggles often overlap those of the organized religions themselves, particularly over the ordination of openly gay and lesbian clergy and support for same-sex marriages.
Difficulties from integrating concepts of spirituality and sexual orientation don’t only play out externally and/or socially. Many gay individuals do report internal conflict between their religious faith and sexual orientation. Further, these conflicts are associated with increased shame, depression, suicidal ideation, and difficulty accepting a positive gay identity.
Gay individuals who are members of faith communities that frame homosexuality in a negative light face significant distress when attempting to reconcile the two identities, often furthering a sense of learned shame, hopelessness, and damnation. Given the fact that the majority of mainline Protestant, Catholic, Islamic, and Judaic traditions strictly prohibit any desires or behaviors of homosexuality. When homosexuality is not outwardly condemned in traditional religious activities, it is rarely embraced as a viable sexual orientation. Gay parishioners and their relationships typically remain unacknowledged and invisible.
In additional, some religious messages perpetuate that mythos that the HIV/AIDS crisis was caused by God’s divine retribution for homosexuality. Because gay men and intravenous drug users were the first populations to enter societal awareness as AIDS sufferers, this disease has never fully escaped the moral judgments and scrutiny. Lack of immediate response to current minorities (non-gay men) impacted by HIV/AIDS has exemplified an ever-present sense of degradation to this disease by the U.S. government. Researchers have reported that many patients encounter stigmatizing experiences among religious congregations because of such attitudes.
In response to heterosexist, hetero-normative, and/or unwelcoming religious institutions, HIV+ gay men, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) affirming faith communities have evolved. Either by altering traditional denomination’s doctrine to be inclusive (e.g., Dignity for LGBT Catholics) or creating entirely new denominations (from traditional religious ones) specifically serving the LGBT community (e.g., Rev. Troy Perry and the Metropolitan Community Church MCC), these communities are present in most major cities in America.
As a result of these and other movements toward greater inclusiveness, LGBT individuals are experiencing increased opportunities (perhaps unlike any other point in history) for integrating their sexual orientation with their religious or spiritual beliefs. Although research and anecdotal literature have explored the conflict between sexual and religious/spiritual identity, minimal empirical research has investigated the role of affirming faith group experiences on the spiritual and mental health of gay men.
As discussed briefly above, the literature indicates that many LGBT individuals, including HIV+ gay men, have reported negative experiences with their faith groups. These experiences have lead to an elimination of formal religion (such as church/temple attendance) from their lives. Unfortunately, spirituality as a coping style is also eliminated.
However, many who leave their traditional faith find spiritual growth by redefining their spiritual and/or religious beliefs and practices. From this, LGBT and HIV+ gay men are provided with a sense of spiritual awakening. Likewise, LGBT and HIV+ gay men who are lucky enough to find affirmation in their formal/traditional faith groups might feel that affirmation enhances both their spirituality and their psychological health (particularly when combating negative feedback and/or homophobia from the larger society).
Given the developing distinction between organized religion and spirituality, it is necessary to consider them separate constructs as they relate to psychological health. Because spirituality can be seen as distinct from religion, developing a sense of spirituality separate from more formalized experiences with their faith groups may mediate the effect of negative religious experiences on the psychological health of these individuals. This can prove particularly useful and advantages for individuals living with HIV/AIDS that have felt that a relationship with a God or higher power was no longer an option for them, and not able to benefit from spiritual coping mechanisms.
In the next essay installment, the science behind how spirituality can benefit HIV + gay men will be discussed. Stay tuned.
Ask Anthony for his references.
Share your comments below.
Click to take an anonymous survey on HIV/spirituality.
* After a hiatus from all religion, coming out, building myself into a proud man (all of which were challenging chapters), I have only recently begun to reconcile my feelings about a higher power and their place in my life. I know that many young LGBTQ people have had experienced similar, and often much worse, messages from religious figures in their lives. Many have turned away from religion and/or any spirituality because of these experiences. This is a great injustice. Spirituality, at a minimum, is an important coping skill for millions of people around the world. Many of those people are LGBTQ’s. However, researchers in the behavioral sciences have only begun to explore its utility for LGBTQ’s with regards to self-esteem, coping with chronic illness such as HIV/AIDS, and coping with an oppressive society. The following essays are part of my dissertation. They will discuss spirituality as a coping style, how it works, the academic dilemmas in examining these topics, and will hopefully spark more interest from researchers, and those of us still in hiatus from spirituality.
Who's That Queer [James Baldwin]
Brought to you by Pistol Pete
James Arthur Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – November 30, 1987) was a writer, playwright, poet and civil rights activist.
Most of Baldwin's work deals with racial and sexual issues in the mid-20th century in the United States. His novels are notable for the personal way in which they explore questions of identity as well as the way in which they mine complex social and psychological pressures related to being black and homosexual well before the social, cultural or political equality of these groups was improved.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Leon Liberman: Help is there, just ask for it
My story should have been
shared long before now and
I regret not having done so.
by Leon Liberman, for LifeLube.
Read more from Leon here.
One of the toughest parts of beginning treatment was downing the first prescribed pill. For someone who never had health insurance and prided himself on being in miraculously good shape in his mid-sixties, I now knew that I would never be without needed medication.
Social Security had referred me to Public Aid for payment of Medicare B premiums because of my low income. Public Aid put on spenddown, which I didn’t understand, and after a short while switched me from one local office to another. The new office to which I had been assigned and dutifully reported claimed not to have been advised of the switch. Not knowing there was help in resolving such problems, I tried unsuccessfully to resolve them myself.I mentioned the problems I was having with Public Aid to my doctor who suggested that I meet with the hospital social worker about them, which I did. He called Ann Fisher, Executive Director of the AIDS Legal Council of Chicago, and I saw her straightaway.
Ms. Fisher accompanied me to the Public Aid office and using her respected professional position of authority and influence, resolved the switching and spenddown problems, had a miscalculation of my income corrected and saw that I was entitled to benefits not previously offered to me. I have since depended upon Ms. Fisher for help in resolving more legal problems that I never anticipated having. She has always been immediately accessible and thorough in her advice and effective in her assistance.
My purpose in writing is twofold. I want people living with HIV and AIDS residing in Illinois who already have unresolved legal problems and those unaware of benefit entitlements to know of the AIDS Legal Council of Chicago and the completely free assistance and representation available from the Council for those with low incomes - if they don’t already know it.
Problems might be discrimination issues, insurance, Social Security benefits, Medicare, Medicaid, wills and powers of attorney, debtor credit, immigration and/or guardianship for children. Call the Council. There are no recorded menu options from which to choose. A real live person will answer the telephone and put you through directly to Ms. Fisher or someone on the Council staff of lawyers, paralegals and case workers. Spanish is spoken. If the problem is one that the Council is not equipped to handle, you’ll be referred to a service that will.
Also, I want to beg support of readers for the AIDS Legal Council of Chicago’s work in providing those with low incomes and are HIV Positive or have AIDS with help in resolving their legal problems and finding out what they might be entitled to that they can use and are not aware of availability.
Your support is needed for the Council’s continued good work and expansion.
Join members of Chicago’s most prestigious law firms and other concerned donors in supporting the Council by calling Ann Fisher or if she is not available, Ricardo Cifuentes, Council Development Director, for information about the AIDS Legal Council and to find out how you can support its much needed services.
The AIDS Legal Council of Chicago is located at 180 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60601. The telephone number is 312 427 8990. (Toll free 866 506 3038.) Information is also available on the Council’s website www.aidslegal.com.
As I said, HELP IS THERE, JUST ASK FOR IT.
Um, meth does not equal death, m'kay?
Letter to the Editor, via Windy City Times
Meth madness
2010-02-24
To the editor:
We are writing to counter the recurring and disturbing community discussion of crystal-meth use by gay men in Chicago.
The unfortunate and inaccurate message that "Meth = Death" characterizes this discussion.
Fact: Approximately 90 percent to 95 percent of gay men in Chicago don't use crystal methamphetamine.
Fact: Health Department research indicates that crystal use has decreased. Among hundreds of men surveyed, 4 percent said they recently used it ( as compared to 10 percent of those surveyed five years ago ) .
Fact: National and local data indicate that only a minority of people who try a drug, including potent drugs like methamphetamine, go on to become regular users and/or dependent.
Fact: Of the small ( but important nonetheless ) percentage of Chicago gay men who are addicted to crystal, and are experiencing health and financial crises, relationship problems, and legal difficulties, most of them won't die.
Meth does not equal death.
Should we continue to challenge the allure of substances and behaviors that keep us as a community from being our best? Yes. Should we promote messaging that seeks to promote health and wellness? Yes. Can we have community dialogue and get each others‚ attention without over sensationalizing? We can and we must.
Why not emphasize our community's courage and resilience in spending the past five years tackling this issue and our accomplishments in reducing use?
Misleading and deceptive communications on such an important matter do not serve our collective physical, mental, spiritual or sexual health needs. They don't enlighten. Telling the truth is essential, involves nuance, and our community deserves no less.
For those who use the drug problematically, treatment is available and recovery is possible. Chicago has a wealth of resources to help gay men addicted to crystal, including programs at Howard Brown Health Center, Haymarket Center and Valeo at Lakeshore Hospital. Additionally, there are groups like Crystal Meth Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous that offer important support to people who want to get and stay sober.
Crystal meth is an issue of concern for those who use the drug, for those who love them, and for the community which is their home. Chicago remains committed to helping these people receive the support they need to minimize harms, reduce use or quit altogether.
Signed,
Project CRYSP ( LifeLube's momma)
projectcrysp@gmail.com
-------
Also in the Windy City Times, another item of interest:
Drug Task Force Starts Website
In a meeting held Feb. 17 at the Chicago Department of Public Health ( CDPH ) , 333 S. State, the Chicago Task Force on LGBT Substance Use and Abuse announced that it has started a Web site that functions as an information repository.
The Web site, www.ChicagoLGBTSubstance.com , has several pages, including "Body, Mind, & Soul," which discusses emotional and mental health in addition to the physical; "Substances," which tackles alcohol, opiates and tobacco, among other drugs; and "Chicago Services," which provides a list of references and agencies that aid in drug treatment, but which also includes a chat room.
Read the rest.
Meth madness
2010-02-24
To the editor:
We are writing to counter the recurring and disturbing community discussion of crystal-meth use by gay men in Chicago.
The unfortunate and inaccurate message that "Meth = Death" characterizes this discussion.
Fact: Approximately 90 percent to 95 percent of gay men in Chicago don't use crystal methamphetamine.
Fact: Health Department research indicates that crystal use has decreased. Among hundreds of men surveyed, 4 percent said they recently used it ( as compared to 10 percent of those surveyed five years ago ) .
Fact: National and local data indicate that only a minority of people who try a drug, including potent drugs like methamphetamine, go on to become regular users and/or dependent.
Fact: Of the small ( but important nonetheless ) percentage of Chicago gay men who are addicted to crystal, and are experiencing health and financial crises, relationship problems, and legal difficulties, most of them won't die.
Meth does not equal death.
Should we continue to challenge the allure of substances and behaviors that keep us as a community from being our best? Yes. Should we promote messaging that seeks to promote health and wellness? Yes. Can we have community dialogue and get each others‚ attention without over sensationalizing? We can and we must.
Why not emphasize our community's courage and resilience in spending the past five years tackling this issue and our accomplishments in reducing use?
Misleading and deceptive communications on such an important matter do not serve our collective physical, mental, spiritual or sexual health needs. They don't enlighten. Telling the truth is essential, involves nuance, and our community deserves no less.
For those who use the drug problematically, treatment is available and recovery is possible. Chicago has a wealth of resources to help gay men addicted to crystal, including programs at Howard Brown Health Center, Haymarket Center and Valeo at Lakeshore Hospital. Additionally, there are groups like Crystal Meth Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous that offer important support to people who want to get and stay sober.
Crystal meth is an issue of concern for those who use the drug, for those who love them, and for the community which is their home. Chicago remains committed to helping these people receive the support they need to minimize harms, reduce use or quit altogether.
Signed,
Project CRYSP ( LifeLube's momma)
projectcrysp@gmail.com
-------
Also in the Windy City Times, another item of interest:
Drug Task Force Starts Website
In a meeting held Feb. 17 at the Chicago Department of Public Health ( CDPH ) , 333 S. State, the Chicago Task Force on LGBT Substance Use and Abuse announced that it has started a Web site that functions as an information repository.
The Web site, www.ChicagoLGBTSubstance.com , has several pages, including "Body, Mind, & Soul," which discusses emotional and mental health in addition to the physical; "Substances," which tackles alcohol, opiates and tobacco, among other drugs; and "Chicago Services," which provides a list of references and agencies that aid in drug treatment, but which also includes a chat room.
Read the rest.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Sponge-worthiness
Another wonderful website recommendation
Topics covered include:
* HIV
* Fucking
* Condoms and lube
* Other Sex
* PEP
* Poppers
Cum ‘on him, not in him’ is better.Fewer men means less risk... There’s less risk if you cut down on unprotected fucking or have other kinds of sex instead... Less risk if you take it easy and use lots of lube...
Bluebelly harm reduction from Down Under
Bluebelly / blue.bel.ly / n.
1. slang term for meth/amphetamine.
2. a diverse community of interested individuals seeking to gather and deliver high quality harm-reduction information.
Bluebelly is a collaborative, harm-reduction project from Down Under that aims to gather and provide concise, relevant information about amphetamine-type stimulants for people of all backgrounds/identities.
Check out the following example of clear, no-nonsense, user-friendly info from their wiki/website blend:
Drug Combinations
People combine drugs for a range of reasons including:
- Potentiation of pleasurable effects
- To mitigate the unpleasurable effects of another drug
- To achieve separate but simultaneous effects.
The table found here provides a summary of some known drug combinations and possible implications.
1. slang term for meth/amphetamine.
2. a diverse community of interested individuals seeking to gather and deliver high quality harm-reduction information.
Bluebelly is a collaborative, harm-reduction project from Down Under that aims to gather and provide concise, relevant information about amphetamine-type stimulants for people of all backgrounds/identities.
Check out the following example of clear, no-nonsense, user-friendly info from their wiki/website blend:
Drug Combinations
- Potentiation of pleasurable effects
- To mitigate the unpleasurable effects of another drug
- To achieve separate but simultaneous effects.
The table found here provides a summary of some known drug combinations and possible implications.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Prevent a Horror-Movie Ending: Pass Health Reform NOW!
Healthcare advocates expect excessively shaky camera work at Thursday’s high-stakes meetings, to be held at the Blair House in Washington. Will our leaders break the political impasse to bring about real health care reform? Or will they sentence lifesaving legislation to permanent banishment in the woods?
The White House released the president's health care reform proposal this morning, and on Thursday will hold a nationally televised summit on health reform, President Obama and congressional leaders must chart a course out of the political thicket obstructing final passage for health reform legislation. The hopes of tens of millions of uninsured Americans—and tens of millions more who will surely lose affordable coverage—rests in the outcome of this meeting.
Contact Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid NOW and urge them to do whatever it takes to pass comprehensive health reform through budget reconciliation. Call them—and your own members of Congress toll-free at: 1 (800) 828-0498. Go to www.congress.org to find out who represents you.
Peter, how do I find an HIV-friendly dentist?
[Peter Pointers is here 4 YOU, as a service to LifeLube readers - whatever question you may have regarding sexual health, physical health, mental/emotional and spiritual health - ask him. He will find the answers you are looking 4. helped by a team of experts. Below is a recent Q&A you may be interested to read.]
Thank you so much for your question. I am so sorry that you have had such negative experiences with dentist in the past. Let's see what we can do to help you out for the future.
After talking with some of my colleagues, I have gathered a small (and sure not to be exhaustive) list of HIV-friendly dentists around Chicago.
To begin, Chicago Pride magazine lists the "Spang Center for Oral Health" as the Midwest's only dental center for people with HIV, AIDS or TB that provides care based on ability to pay. More information can be found here.
Also suggested by some of Howard Brown Health Center's Case Managers are:
Dental Profile at 4445 N Pulaski. Telephone: (773) 279-9977
Dr Glenn Ulfers at 3759 North Southport Avenue. Telephone: (773) 525-2606. Check out his website.
Lastly, a personal recommendation from an HIV-positive friend who loves his dentist is:
- Dr. Ramin Medhat.
55 East Washington Ste 3200
(312) 726-5205, website.
Dr. Medhat is located downtown and the Northwest side, involved in the community, and said to be "totally cool."
Be well,
Peter Pointers
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Feel the Love... Sister Glo channels Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Whoso loves, believes the impossible.
Sister Glo shares her glittery gems of love with LifeLube each Friday.
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