Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1999. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Bay Area Reporter - September 25, 1999
Timothy Leifield
The success of Condoms Now! is the result of a lot of hard work from a great many people in the community who are committed to HIV prevention. These 1.7 million condoms represent the activists who lobbied long and hard for a large scale, ongoing condom distribution program in San Francisco. They represent close to 100 businesses that are willing to be distribution centers -- from leather bars to plant stores, dance clubs to beauty salons, cruise bars to coffee shops, and from adult theaters to video arcades -- local business owners willing to do their part to help stop AIDS. (And hundreds of bartenders who are willing to remind their customers to stick one in their pocket for later).
They represent the commitment of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and the San Francisco Department of Public Health to make certain this program is sufficiently funded. And they represent the volunteers and staff of the Stop AIDS Project who run around town keeping everyone in stock, especially before peak demand times: Pride week and the Folsom and Castro street fairs.
Most importantly, they represent a lot of caring. They represent thousands of HIV-positive and HIV-negative guys taking care of each other. They represent a community that cares about itself and its future.
We produce a lot of workshops on HIV prevention and we host a lot of community forums. We strive to address any issue that might affect our resolve to stay safe. We talk about sex and drugs, sex and booze, sex and race, sex and leather, sex and money. We talk about being horny all the time. We talk about not being horny anymore.
But all that talk, all that resolve, is worthless if condoms aren't available.
That's our first priority: getting the condoms to you, the user. Along the way, another benefit has turned up. We realized that every time we dropped off condoms, it was an opportunity to check in with all the different folks who make up our community. What's happening in the Polk? What's bugging guys in SOMA? How will we outreach Latinos that don't identify as gay or bi?
In the Polk, there is a lot of concern about the hustlers and about the speed use among them. Through the condom program, our neighborhood organizer got to know several business owners who then became involved in sponsoring Working Boys, a photography project that not only brought young street workers in for condoms and lube, but also gave them a hit of self-esteem when their photos were displayed in an art gallery setting.
After meeting several members of the leather community, our SOMA organizer heard about the need for information on safe SM. He brought together a group that worked on guidelines and worked to raise money to print the piece. To date, 7,000 copies of S/M SEX à Safely have been distributed, and many more will go out this Sunday at the Folsom Street Fair.
Last month, places that distribute condoms in the Mission District got involved in prevention efforts in another way. They helped spread the word through the Families Change, Families Grow campaign that Latino gay and bi men aren't alone. The counter top displays included contact information on four agencies where Latinos can go to meet and talk with other Latino gay and bi men.
We're now trying to expand the program, to bring in more businesses that have called wanting to participate. We also want to provide condoms to several of the residential hotels that cater to gay and bi men who are nearly homeless. (Feel free to call or write your favorite supervisors to encourage their support!)
Condom distribution is about returning HIV prevention to the community, which, after all, created HIV prevention in the first place. So, the next time you're out and about and you see a Condoms Now! container, pick up a handful and thank the business for helping stop this epidemic. Then, do your part.
Timothy Leifield is executive director of the Stop AIDS Project. Stop AIDS is looking for more volunteers to help with condom distribution and outreach. Please call (415) 575-0150 for more information.
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