Miami Herald - November 19, 2002
Steve Rothaus, srothaus@herald.com

"Everything went blank," he said. "I just heard the nurse's voice -- like long distance -- telling me I was going to be fine, that there were good drugs, that I wasn't going to die. I just went blank."

Henry became HIV positive in December 2000 and went for testing a month later.

He was a healthy 5-year-old in 1985, the year a small group of well-to-do gay men and women held South Florida's first large AIDS benefit, the White Party.

Now, Henry relies greatly on services paid for by Care Resource's annual Thanksgiving weekend White Party at Vizcaya Museum & Gardens. This year's event is Dec. 1, preceded by a week of fundraising activities and parties.

"We raise almost a million dollars that week and a lot goes into services for the whole community, whether they're gay, straight, black, Hispanic," said James Balzano, 38, of Miami Shores, White Party's 2002 volunteer chairman.

Care Resource is Florida's largest AIDS organization.

"I really want the local people to be there and see what we're doing for them," said Balzano, a sixth-grade teacher at South Pointe Elementary in Miami Beach. "It's not a circuit party. . . . This is a fundraiser for people who are sick."

Through Care Resource, Henry sees a primary-care doctor, gets medicines and vitamins, has his medical case managed and receives psychological and social counseling.

Henry doesn't want his full name published. His parents in Venezuela don't know he is gay or that he has HIV.

The Miami area has the highest HIV/AIDS rate in the United States, 60 per 100,000 people, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Greater Fort Lauderdale has the third-highest rate in the nation, about 48 per 100,000.

Care Resource operates with an annual $5.5 million budget. The agency's top fundraiser is the internationally known White Party, which last year generated $570,000, Executive Director Rick Siclari said.

This year's net goal is $600,000, Siclari said.

Most of the money raised by Care Resource -- 86 percent -- goes directly to services for more than 15,000 clients.

"We need to do more about prevention, but to do that we need more resources," Siclari said.

In the third decade of the AIDS crisis, Henry is one of countless young gay men recently infected with HIV. He is healthy looking and hangs out in popular gay clubs: Cactus Bar & Grill near downtown Miami, Score and Twist in South Beach.

Henry contracted the virus when a condom broke during sex with a stranger. Now he is warning other young men.

"Tell them to have their eyes open and avoid sexual encounters with many people," Henry said. "Find one person you like and are interested in. Know more about the disease. Learn more about protection and safer sex."

Most young people today have no idea how devastating AIDS can be, said Dennis Longo, 40, Care Resource's development manager.

"The fear is gone because they don't see the face of AIDS anymore," Longo said. "You can't look at someone and say, 'Oh, they have AIDS or they're HIV positive.'

"For one week, they should work in a doctor's office or take 10 pills a day."

Young people today give little thought to AIDS, Longo said. When he learned he had HIV 18 years ago, that's all he could think about.

"It was a certain-death sentence," Longo said. 'I thought, 'OK, I'm positive. I'm going to die. How long do I have? Three years? Five years?' I put my future on hold because I thought I didn't have a future."

Luckily, Longo was mistaken. He has never developed a life-threatening illness. But he knows first-hand how deadly HIV can be. His partner of 10 years, Dr. Nelson Ferrer, an AIDS specialist, died of the disease in 1992 at age 36.

"The most horrific thing for me was to see him go from a perfectly healthy guy to wasting away to a 98-pound nothing," Longo said.

"He had Karposi's sarcoma (a rare AIDS-related cancer), retinitis, a multitude of ailments and opportunistic infections."

Longo said that after Ferrer died, he internalized his grief. He came around after getting a job with Care Resource.

"The helplessness began to subside," said Longo, who coordinates the agency's annual spring AIDS Walk.

Longo is appalled at how ignorant some young people are about AIDS.

"I get some of the weirdest responses," he said. 'They think there is a cure already. 'Isn't there a cure? Isn't there a pill?' It shocks me. I say it's not cured. There are 40 million people infected and zero people cured."

WHITE PARTY WEEK SCHEDULE

Here's a partial list of White Party Week events. Ticket packages range from $225 to $550. Tickets can be bought online or by calling 305-667-9296, ext. 44. For all prices and other information, visit www.whiteparty.com.

Friday

- 4 p.m. to 5 a.m.: Azucar! Cactus Bar & Grill, 2041 Biscayne Blvd., Miami.

Saturday

- 3 to 6 p.m. Welcome Center opens, Royal Palm Crowne Plaza Resort, 1545 Collins Ave., Miami Beach.

Sunday

- 7 to 9 p.m.: White Party Fest, French Connection, 1026 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach.

Wednesday, Nov. 27

- 8 to 10:30 p.m.: White Knights VIP Sponsor Reception, The Blue Door at the Delano Hotel, 1685 Collins Ave., Miami Beach.

- 9 p.m. to 2:30 a.m.: Sin -- A Leather and Fetish Fantasy, Sea Monster, 2 S. New River Dr. West, Fort Lauderdale.

- 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.: Victory Party, China Grill, 404 Washington Ave., Miami Beach.

Thursday, Nov. 28

- 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.: White Starz, Billboardlive, 15th Street and Ocean Drive, Miami Beach.

Friday Nov. 29

- Noon to sunset: Heat Wave Pool Party, Royal Palm Crowne Plaza Resort, 1545 Collins Ave., Miami Beach.

- 8 p.m. Come Out Laughing. Comics Mimi Gonzalez and Jim David. Lincoln Theater, 541 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach.

- 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.: White Dreams, Miami Seaquarium, 4400 Rickenbacker Causeway.

- 9 p.m.: Samba Tease, Club Steel, 5922 S. Dixie Hwy., South Miami.

Saturday, Nov. 30

- 8 a.m. to noon: White Journey, Maze Nightclub, 1290 18th St., Miami Beach.

- Noon to sunset: Muscle Beach Party, Ocean Drive and 12th Street, Miami Beach.

- 3 to 6 p.m.: White Out, Armani Exchange, 760 Collins Ave. For every purchase made during the event, Armani Exchange will donate 10 percent of sale to Care Resource.

- 8 p.m. Come Out Laughing. Comics Mimi Gonzalez and Jim David. Lincoln Theater, 541 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach.

- 9 p.m. to 7 a.m.: White Heat at Maze Nightclub, 1290 18th St., Miami Beach.

- 9 p.m. to 3 a.m.: Cirque Blanc -- the official women's event, Eden Roc Resort, 4525 Collins Ave., Miami Beach.

Sunday Dec. 1

- 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.: White Dawn, crobar, 1445 Washington Ave., Miami Beach.

- 2 to 7 p.m.: Wet girls' T-dance. Shelborne Beach Resort, 1801 Collins Ave., Miami Beach.

- 6:30 to 11:30 p.m.: The 18th annual White Party at Vizcaya featuring DJ Monty Q. Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, 3251 S. Miami Ave., Miami.

- 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.: Noche Blanca at Level, 1234 Washington Ave., Miami Beach.

- 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.: Noche Blanca at crobar, 1445 Washington Ave., Miami Beach.

Monday Dec. 2

- 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Stay at Maze Nightclub, 1290 18th St., Miami Beach.

- 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.: Relax at Rain, 323 23rd St., Miami Beach.

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