Prevention Revolution or Magical Thinking

O what a night! The forum was informative as our panel of experts provided information behind  Pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV (PrEP).This can potentially save millions of lives once available to the public.The audience was engaged by details of two exciting projects, iPrEx and Project PrEPare, both working to provide the opportunity for people to take a daily pill which could protect against HIV transmission.The audience also heard a testimony from a PreEP user on how he was affected by the study.  The Podcast of this event will be posted as it becomes available unto LifeLube.Check out the action below!

 

Photos by Ed Negron

For more.

So, what about this "magic pill" that can prevent HIV?!

Critical reflections around PrEP: Questions, concerns, and next steps

by Keith R. Green, MSW (Co-Chair Elect, Chicago Black Gay Men’s Caucus)

As Project Director of the only U.S.-specific acceptability and feasibility pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) trial in adolescents ages 18-24 - Project PrEPare - I must qualify the following statements by saying that my views are my own. They do not in any way reflect the thoughts or beliefs of the Adolescent Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions (ATN), my current employer. My views on this topic are mine alone and, as a Black man who is sexually intimate with other men (diagnosed with HIV as an adolescent), they come from a very personal place.

Formalities aside, I should start by saying that I am very excited about the data that has come forth from the National Institutes of Health’s Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Initiative (iPrEx). This international research study showed that the antiretroviral drug Truvada, when offered as a component of a comprehensive prevention package that includes condoms, counseling, and regular HIV/STI screening, was associated with a 44% reduction in HIV infections in participants who took it compared to those who took placebo. Additionally, a nearly 73 percent reduction in infections was seen in participants who took the study drug more than 90 percent of the time. I perceive PrEP to be a much needed weapon in our arsenal against the havoc that HIV is wreaking on gay, bisexual, and same gender loving communities, and this data demonstrating such a significant degree of efficacy fills me with hope.

I also very much appreciated the opinion piece that Dr. Kevin Fenton (Director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) wrote for CNNOpinion, outlining some of the cautions around this potential prevention option. I completely agree with him. This is just one study testing this intervention, and many unanswered questions remain, particularly with respect to what this data means for the populations most impacted by the epidemic in the United States.

Though the NIH iPrEX dataset is relatively large in numbers (2499 participants in total), U.S. men who have sex with men (MSM) are terribly underrepresented. In fact, less that 10 percent (less than 250 people) of the sample was from two U.S. cities combined (San Francisco and Boston). I have not seen the racial/ethnic background of the U.S. cohort—however, I think that it’s safe to say that the numbers get even smaller as it relates to people of color and young people of color in particular.

That said, the way that this data has been represented in the U.S. media is deeply disturbing. And the fact that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) immediately issued a fact sheet regarding the implications of this data, complete with incomplete guidelines for use and considerations for roll out, without a clear research agenda around these objectives, is downright scary. (I want to reiterate that I appreciate Dr. Fenton’s opinion piece, but it came nearly a week after the fact sheet. I understand the intent behind both, but from what I’ve read, a caution statement released on the same day as the data would have been much more in order than a fact sheet.)

One of the key messages from the NIH study is that adherence to the PrEP regimen is paramount to its success at combating the virus. I admit that I do not know a whole lot about the cultural variances around adherence (in Lima, Peru compared to Brooklyn, New York, per se), but I do know that African Americans, particularly those here in Chicago where I live, have a very rocky relationship with antiretrovirals. Recent surveillance data issued from the Chicago Department of Public Health found that only about 43 percent of African American MSM who knew their HIV status at the time of that survey were engaged in care that involves antiretrovirals. The reasons behind this are not clear, but anecdotally, we can speculate about them. Primarily, I believe, it has to do with our fragile history with the healthcare system, and the lack of trust that we have developed as a result. A lack of trust that all Americans can probably relate to, considering the abundance of malpractice suits and recalled prescription drugs that abound in our country.

That said, many critical concerns come to mind when I think about how the use of Truvada as PrEP could play out in the real world, particularly for the populations most impacted by the epidemic in this country at this time. Rocky relationships with antiretrovirals have equated to decreased engagement with them among African American gay, bisexual men, and same gender loving men. 

Truvada is one of the most widely prescribed antiretrovials (mostly due to its convenient dosing schedule and its presence in Atripla – the once-daily ‘miracle pill’). Therefore, considering the troubled relationship that African American MSM in Chicago have with antiretrovirals in general, is it possible that there are increased levels of resistance to Truvada among HIV positive men in the community? And, if so, could it be possible that an African American gay, bisexual, or same gender loving man who decided to take Truvada as PrEP (as a primary prevention with or without other proven prevention options), is at greater risk of being exposed to virus that is resistant to Truvada, leaving him not as protected as he believes he is? And, if he becomes infected and is infectious until he is diagnosed, is there not potential for him to pass on more resistant virus to others in the process?

I need to be clear that I understand that these concerns could be generalized to other populations. Much of this could be true for gay, white men or men from Lima, Peru, and that’s my whole point. We don’t have enough information to make any assumptions, really!

There are so many critical questions that must be answered before we allow those seeking to avoid contracting HIV to become convinced of the safety and efficacy of Truvada as PrEP:
•    Will African American MSM take PrEP as it must be taken in order for it to work? (Which includes taking it as a component of a comprehensive prevention package that includes condoms, counseling, and regular HIV/STI screening?
•    Does the general public understand that PrEP must be combined with other safe sex practices to derive the greatest protection from HIV?
•    Are we communicating, completely and honestly, the full range of risks involved with PrEP? Or do we really understand the full range of risks, particularly as it relates to resistance and how the potential for it varies from population to population?
•    What are the long-term effects associated with taking antiretrovirals preventatively?
•    Are we communicating effectively the fact that PrEP is not the ticket to a free ride on the “Sex Express”? (Condoms and other proven prevention strategies MUST be used)
•    Are we still advocating for regular HIV/STI screening and the power of knowing one’s status?

It is my sincere hope that the HIV/AIDS advocacy community will raise its voice LOUDLY to these concerns, and that the powers that be at the CDC, NIH, and other research institutions will explore the warnings and thoughtfully design research studies with strong behavioral and clinical outcomes that have these questions in mind. The future of HIV prevention in our country is dependent upon it. 

*** A community forum to discuss the iPrEX data and its potential impact on the future directon of Project PrEPare will take place in the Michael Leppen Theater at the Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, on Wednesday, December 15th 2010 from 6:30-8:30pm. The discussion will be co-facilitated by Jim Pickett, Director of Advocacy for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago and Chair of the International Rectal Microbicide Advocates.

Project PrEPare Launches in Chicago

LifeLube did a little Q&A 

with Project PrEPare Director, 

Keith Green - 

check it.

LifeLube - What is PrEP?

Keith - PrEP stands for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis. The concept of PrEP for HIV is similar to the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis protocols used for other diseases, such as malaria and rabies. PrEP for HIV involves the use of certain medications routinely prescribed for the treatment of HIV/AIDS to study whether they can prevent infection with the virus in HIV-negative people who take them prior to exposure. There are several thousand people currently involved in PrEP studies around the world, which demonstrates global support that PrEP may have some protective effect against HIV. 

Tell us about this new Chicago PrEP study. In a nutshell, who is being recruited, and what will participants be asked to do?

This new Chicago PrEP study, called Project PrEPare, is a multisite study through the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions (ATN). We are looking to recruit approximately 100 young men who have sex with men (YMSM). Recruitment activities will take place through Stroger Hospital of Cook County, the CORE Center, and Howard Brown Health Center.

Once it has been determined that a potential participant meets all eligibility requirements, he will participate in a 2-day HIV prevention workshop designed to help YMSM understand their risks and take action towards behavioral change. Each participant will then be randomized into one of the three arms of our study: once-daily Truvada as PrEP, placebo, or no pill at all. They will also be provided with condoms and lube, and encouraged to use them should they choose to engage in sexual activity. From there, the young men will be closely monitored for six months by our research team of experienced healthcare providers, which will include monthly study visits at either of our site. Safer sex counseling and condoms will also be provided at each visit.

What kind of protections are in place for participants?

The initial 2-day HIV prevention workshop is an important protective measure. More than anything, we want our participants to understand the risks associated with unprotected sexual activity and to be able to make behavioral changes wherever possible. The workshop is designed to educate them and to stimulate such change. It has been approved by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as an effective HIV prevention intervention.   

During monthly study visits, participants will also be tested for HIV to ensure that they have not become infected with the virus over the past 30 days. In the event that a participant does seroconvert, we will be able to connect him to care in a timely fashion. This is important because it could help to reduce the likelihood of him developing any type of antiretroviral resistance from having been on an HIV medication such as PrEP (if he was actually in the study arm where participants received Truvada). Though this type of resistance has not been seen in any of the larger studies, we’re doing everything that we can to ensure that it doesn’t happen to the young men in our study. In addition, participants will also be screened for other sexually transmissible infections, and other blood tests will be performed in order to detect and/or monitor any potential side effects of the medication.

Our research team will check-in with participants every two weeks between study visits, in order to address anything that may come up before their next scheduled study visit. Participants will also have the cell phone number of at least one team member, to be used in the event of an emergency (related to this study or otherwise). We really want our participants to understand that we are here to support them, not just as it relates to what’s going on in their sex lives. That kind of support is often lacking in other areas of their lives, which can certainly make them more vulnerable to risky situations. We want them to know that we are available to them as resources to be tapped into.

What things has the trial been designed to answer?

This study is designed to explore whether or not YMSM will be willing to even take part in a study involving PrEP. We want to learn if it is possible to do this kind of study with a large group of young men and what are the potential barriers. Some of the questions we want to answer are: what makes young men want to join and stay on the study, what makes them follow the study procedures, and will being on the drugs make them act riskier because they feel they are protected. However, our study is not designed to test whether or not these drugs actually work to prevent infection with HIV for those who are exposed to the virus.

Why is this research important? Why should we care?

Aside from the very important questions that it is intended to answer, this research is important because it is designed to give voice to young peoples’ thoughts and challenges around this innovative HIV prevention concept. PrEP is coming down the pipeline, whether we like it or not. But we really don’t have any information about how young people, the population who could benefit most from it here in the U.S., will respond to it. The average age of participants in the larger studies is 32. Here in Chicago, people much younger than that are becoming infected with HIV at alarming rates. Recent surveillance data suggests that the HIV prevalence rate among YMSM ages 18-24 in Chicago is 13.6 percent overall, and an astounding 24.6 percent among African American YMSM. If PrEP for HIV is indeed proven to be efficacious, we need to know how young people feel about it. We need to know if they will be interested in the concept, and the challenges they will face to accessing it and adhering to a regimen.

If we care about our young people at all, then we should certainly care about this research.

How can I volunteer for the trial?

You can volunteer for our trial by contacting Keith at 312-864-8003 or at projectpreparedirector@gmail.com. You can also get more information at www.projectpreparechicago.org. 


Thanks Keith! Keep us posted on how the reial goes - and best of luck from your friends at LifeLube!

How is Keith Green healthy?

Maintaining the audacity to dream, and to live my dreams in spite of everything in the world that conspires against them, keeps me healthy.

I was born into a world that valued nothing about me. I was male, but I was a black male. Strike one. The family from which I came was of this society’s lower-middle class, at best. Strike two. And though nobody could have known it at the time, I would grow to prefer the emotional and physical intimacy of other men. OUT, indeed (pun intended)!

That said, healthy came for me the day I woke up and decided that this world does not possess the power, nor the measures, to determine my worth. I miraculously came to understand that it is God who has created me, beautifully complex as I am. And, if everything that God created is in fact good, then God must certainly be all good with the creation that is me. I would even go so far as to speculate that God has a special love for me, because I am bold enough to accept this truth and to walk in it.

Making the choice to walk in this truth brings about a certain sense of power (commonly referred to in my hood as “swag”). This power allows its possessors the ability to dream impossible dreams, and then have the unwavering faith to actually experience them come to fruition. It’s the same power, or swag, that made Barack Obama foolish enough to believe that he could become the first Black man elected to the office of President of these United States of America.

I am healthy because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that whatever I put my swag to…shall be. And every single day, I let it be.

-- Keith Green
Chicago


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Prepping for a prevention trial, and unexpected homophobia

Prepping for a PrEP trial
Critical observations before the study even begins
via Positively Aware, by Keith R. Green

I asked him how he addressed homosexuality during his church prevention work. His response made my head spin.

I recently accepted a position as Project Director for a research study designed to assess the initial acceptability and feasibility of a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) trial among young men who have sex with men (YMSM) in Chicago.

The concept of PrEP, in a nutshell, involves administering medications used in the treatment of HIV (particularly Viread or Truvada at this point) to “high risk” HIV-negative individuals, in hopes of preventing transmission of the virus. Several PrEP trials are currently underway across the globe, many of which will likely demonstrate the efficacy of both Viread and Truvada as biomedical interventions for the prevention of HIV.

Though young men who have sex with men, particularly those of color, continue to contract HIV at alarming rates, these current trials ironically have very few young men enrolled in them. Therefore, if in fact these studies are able to prove the effectiveness of PrEP, we will know very little about its implementation within the population that could benefit most from this technology. The PrEP study that I am involved with seeks to provide some insight into this.

For this study, we will attempt to recruit 99 YMSM between the ages of 18 and 22, and to follow them for six months.

There are three separate arms in the study. All participants will go through an intensive evidence-based behavioral intervention and then be randomized to one of three groups. One group will receive once-daily Truvada, another group will receive a placebo (or sugar pill), and yet another group will receive nothing. Participants will be regularly monitored for HIV seroconversion, behavioral disinhibition (getting buck wild sexually because they feel that they are protected by PrEP), and any adverse effects (among a host of other things).

Aware of my search to hire research assistants who will largely be responsible for recruiting and retaining participants, a close friend recommended a friend of his for one of the positions. Trusting the judgment of my friend, I followed up on his recommendation and called his friend to arrange an interview.

Read the rest.

A People Who Once Were

by Keith R. Green
Originally published by Positively Aware
March/April 2007

“I am afraid that there will come a time when history books refer to African Americans as a race of people who once were.”—Saundra Johnson, community educator and long-time HIV/AIDS advocate

Early on the last morning of 2006, two masked gunmen entered the basement of a two-flat building on Chicago’s South Side. The first floor residents of the building were hosting a party that was just about to end. They were known to be gay. They were also known to frequently host rowdy late night parties that lingered into the wee hours of the morning. On more than one occasion, according to some reports, the police have been called in to respond to a myriad of offences—ranging from disturbing the peace to aggravated battery.

Local news reporters who followed the story interviewed a number of neighborhood residents. From their perspective, this was bound to happen. The people in the “gay” house had been warned that “this type of activity” was not acceptable in “this type of neighborhood.” They had been told to move it and to take it back to the suburbs. They had not adhered to the warnings.

The gunmen said no words—they simply sprayed into the crowd. The Chicago Police Department concluded that there was not enough evidence to investigate this tragedy as a hate crime. The gay community became outraged. Outraged at the way that they felt the investigation was being handled. Outraged at the Department’s insensitivity as it relates to constant threats of homophobia, particularly in this neighborhood. Outraged at the blatantly homophobic remarks made by community members. Outraged that black “leaders” such as Jesse Jackson or James Meeks did not publicly speak out about the shooting, one way or the other. And outraged at each other for not knowing how to respond.

A community forum was hosted at a local gay-owned restaurant and, on the day that this country acknowledged the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a march for “peace and respect” was held through the streets of the affected neighborhood. Black and white, gay and straight, people from all over the city came out to show their support for the GLBT residents of this community—who live their daily lives in a sea of intolerance.

While I have been both present at and fascinated with the community response, I have also been overwhelmed with the feeling that we are all somehow missing the bigger picture. From the very beginning, rumors began circulating that the circumstances around this event may not have been what they appeared to be. The degree of community homophobia was undeniable, as evidenced by the remarks made from the neighborhood thugs to the first news reporters on the scene. But the word on the street was that the shooting stemmed from a dispute that had occurred earlier in the night between partygoers and did not in any way meet the legal qualifications of a hate crime.

The bigger picture, then, looks like the acclimation of violence in black communities all over the world. We have become so familiar with these kinds of horrific events occurring within our communities and neighborhoods that unless buzz of “hate crime” surrounds them, we don’t look up from our daily lives to pay it any attention. If we did, we would probably become overwhelmed. And maybe that’s what needs to occur. Maybe we need to become so overwhelmed with all that is really happening in our community that we become forced to do something about it.

But there would just be too much to do now, wouldn’t there? If we paid attention to the disproportionate number of us who are behind bars or infected with HIV. If we looked at how the crack cocaine epidemic has further burdened our urban ghettos and poverty-ridden slums. If we paid attention to the number of us who earn college degrees (or high school diplomas for that matter) compared to other races of people in this country. Or how our youth perform on standardized school exams in comparison to other children their age. If we really paid attention to any of the social ills that face Black people today, there would be just too much to do. And maybe that’s why so many of us have resorted to doing nothing.

While I’ve argued Saundra Johnson up and down since I heard her utter those dismal words nearly two years ago, it’s hard to deny the fact that her hypothesis may have some validity. The daily news provides all the supporting evidence that she needs.

Community forums and marches are a wonderful start, but I’m afraid that if we are to actualize a different outcome than predicted by Saundra, there is something else that we must do. We must effect change in the very fabric of our world. And the issues of our world are not just limited to GLBT issues or black issues or HIV issues. No. It’s about universal human issues. Every human should feel safe where they live—wherever they live. Every human should have access to a good education and life-saving medications. Every human should have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Until we all do, none of these luxuries are guaranteed to any of us.

Keith's bio

Keith is the Associate Editor of Positively Aware, a leader in Chicago's Black Gay Men's Caucus and one helluva fantastic advocate for a host of issues.

Having A Ball

A Look at an Underground Youth Community That Has Taken HIV Prevention and Awareness Into Its Own Hands

by Keith R. Green

[This great piece was originally published in the July/August 2006 edition of Positively Aware. The bimonthly magazine is a publication of Test Positive Aware Network in Chicago. TPAN will be hosting a gay men's health summit called Man Alive November 3, 2007 at the new Center on Halsted.]

In a world where the influence of hip-hop dictates one’s sense of style, speech and masculinity, many Black gay youth have a difficult time finding their way. Safe spaces where they can explore their gender and sexuality are few, far and in between, likely contributing to the extremely high prevalence of HIV and STDs among this marginalized group of young people. Hundreds, if not thousands, turn (or are pushed away) from their traditional families and are forced to fend for themselves in order to survive.

Many, however, find refuge in a small community that celebrates self-expression and encourages them to explore and define who they are for themselves. Here, they are given the tools they need to create their own realities and to live fully inside of their own truths.

History

The ball scene dates back to as early as the 1920’s. The first balls were basically drag pageants, organized and thrown inside of grand ballrooms in Harlem. They were competitive in nature, with structures similar to other events in the Black cultural tradition—such as cotillions, step shows, and carnivals.

Balls as we know them today are centered around several aesthetic categories, including Face, Body, Realness (which is often a play on Black masculinity), Fashion and Vogue (made popular by the classic Madonna hit by the same name). Cash prizes and trophies are the most common rewards. However, any ball kid (as members of this community refer to themselves) will tell you that the ultimate goal of competition is community recognition and status.

Community

In order to understand this concept, one must first become familiar with the ball community—which is slightly different from the ball scene. While New York CityChicago, Atlanta, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. is still recognized as its epicenter, there are sizeable ball communities in several major cities across the country, including

Though it is derived from a highly competitive institution, the ball community is more about social networking than it is about competition. It is made up of more than 35-50 nationally recognized and active houses, each named after a different fashion designer extraordinaire (House of Chanel, House of Escada, etc.).

Houses serve as makeshift families for many GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender) youth who would otherwise do without the support and nourishment provided from “traditional family households.”

A True Home

Each house consists of a house mother and a house father, usually both male and not necessarily defined by degrees of masculinity (or the lack thereof). The roles of house parents are similar to those of “traditional family households,” where the mother lays down the laws and the father enforces them. Both exist to ensure that their “children” have everything they need to grow and develop into healthy, productive human beings.

“Belonging to a house really entails membership, and is, in and of itself, about belonging,” says ball kid and scholar Frank Leon Roberts. Roberts, also known as Frank Mizrahi of the House of Mizrahi, has been actively involved in the ball community and scene since early 2002. At 23 years old, he is a doctoral candidate at New York University, in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the Tisch School of the Arts.

“Houses are basically social networks similar to fraternities or sororities,” he explains. “People network within their houses for jobs and resources that they are often otherwise refused.”

Roberts goes on to explain that many of the kids actually live with their house parents, because they have been ostracized by their biological families for being gay or transgender (or sometimes simply for questioning) and have no place else to go.

“You will often find very young kids—12, 13, 14 years old—who are questioning their sexuality or their gender,” he tells me with wisdom way beyond his years. “It is often the only place where transgenders can celebrate their gender transition free of judgment.”

While many social service agencies make attempts at outreach to the ball community, its underground nature and transient population make efforts done out of good intention oftentimes unfruitful. Roberts describes it as a marginalized community within a marginalized community that many people, including other Black gay men, just don’t get.

“The scene comes out of the community. Therefore, you can’t just do the work at the balls, you have to do the work within the community,” Roberts says matter-of-factly. “You have to be connected to the ballroom community. It has to be hand in hand.

“The work that the ballroom scene does, in and of itself, is that it provides a self-affirming space for Black gay men to be themselves and to play with gender, and to affirm their gender ideas and sexual identities. It provides a recreational space that truly is intervention on the ground level. It is the only place where these types of gender performances are celebrated.”

While he believes that traditional outreach is necessary and that people should be encouraged to practice safer sex and use condoms, Roberts also stresses that outreach to this population has got to be considerably more involved. “The problem with telling people to put on a condom and protect themselves is that you assume that they have a positive sense of self worth and identity,” he says. “But if you have been systematically taught to devalue your life and your body, then why the hell are you going to protect yourself?”

Chi-town Home

The agenda of a Sunday evening family meeting at the Chicago chapter of the House of Omni absolutely supports this theory.

House father Kenny Omni has been involved in the ball community since 1989. He has seen firsthand the devastation that HIV and AIDS has inflicted on Black gay men, both young and old. Having only recently been able to have any type of productive dialogue with his own mother regarding his sexuality, he does not take his role as house father lightly. He understands that his influence is oftentimes the only parental guidance that many of his “kids” will ever know.

“This house is different from most other houses in the ball community,” he says seriously. “I don’t push the balls on my kids. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the balls and love for my house to be recognized within the community,” he explains. “But more important than that, to me, is seeing to it that my kids succeed in life and realize their potential to be whatever they want to be.” And, based on the level of success that many of Omni’s members have attained thus far, Father Kenny Omni is achieving his goal.

Darren Omni recently produced remixes for the Kanye West and Brandy hit Talk About Our Love, and Natalie Cole’s Tell Me All About It. While he refuses to share his real age with anyone in the group, Darren has been a member of the House of Omni for more than eight years. He says that he got involved strictly for the social aspect of it, not necessarily for the balls. “I enjoy the camaraderie that I have with my brothers and sisters,” he says. “I have never really been interested in walking in the balls.”

The exact opposite is true for 20-year old Bambi Omni, who is a professional dancer with Deeply Rooted Productions (a dance troop based out of New YorkChicago). “I don’t live for the balls,” he says. “But the balls live for me.” His animated remarks cause his house brothers to burst into laughter as he demonstrates the unique way in which he works the runway. “I give it to the children.” and

Though he fully enjoys being a part of the ball scene, Bambi’s life is a perfect example of what it means to not get caught up in it. He walked into today’s meeting with news that he has been selected from thousands of dancers to perform in the opening and closing ceremonies for the Gay Games, to be held in Chicago in July. He is also an honor student at the American Intercontinental University, where he majors in business administration.

He moved out of his parents’ home at the age of 16 and has never looked back. “When I came out to my family, they called a family meeting and folks I hadn’t seen in years [came] from all over the country… to exorcise the ‘demon’ from me,” he shares. “I sat there with my Louisville Slugger clutched under my arm and dared those girls to try it. From then on, this community became my family.”

Growing Up

Sex and sexuality are discussions that are constantly on the table for the House of Omni. Father Kenny Omni is a member of the Friend-to-Friend Network (see November/December 2005), and requires that his “kids” not only participate in educational sessions about safer sex practices and HIV, but also has an unspoken rule that they be involved with community events to raise awareness and money to support the efforts of AIDS service organizations in the GLBT community.

“We had 12 members participate in the AIDS Walk last year,” says Fred Omni, who is a prevention case manager for a local HIV/AIDS organization in Chicago. “Not that we were resistant, but we weren’t given much of a choice in the matter,” he jokingly explains.

“In other words,” Bambi chimes in. “Kenny was going to put us out of the house if we didn’t show up.” The entire room bursts into laughter again, but Kenny Omni doesn’t crack a smile.

“I take this very seriously,” he says. “This is such a serious issue that affects all of our community. If we don’t do something about it, who will?”

The House of Omni also takes a serious stand as it relates to underage drinking and substance use/abuse among its members, another hot topic that draws lots of negative attention to the ball scene. “We have a zero tolerance policy on matters such as these,” he says sternly. “There is no place for any of that in this house.”

When asked his perspective on the substance abuse issue that exists within the ball scene, Frank Leon Roberts had this to say: “I don’t know if substance abuse is any more of a problem within the ballroom scene than it is in any other queer recreational space.

“Whether it’s the club scene or the sex party scene or whatever recreational scene it is, drug use is a problem in the gay community in general,” he adds. “But because no one is doing that work and doing that research and doing those surveys with the ballroom community, the entire scene gets stigmatized. Regardless of the situation, however, it is still no excuse for resources to be denied, which is often what happens.”

Keith's bio

Keith is the Associate Editor of Positively Aware, a leader in Chicago's Black Gay Men's Caucus and one helluva fantastic advocate for a host of issues.