Being Alive; July 1997
Charlie Price

Gary Costa noted in his farewell that he "simply need[ed] a break and desperately need[ed] to get out of Los Angeles." Ironically, several years ago my partner of 14 years, Rod, and I decided that we desperately needed a break and we moved from Seattle to Los Angeles. I had been running the Needle Exchange program for three years. It should be noted that in the State of Washington needle exchange is fully legal and usually fully funded by county health departments (memo to Governor Wilson: get with the program, needle exchange saves lives!). Prior to that I founded and ran an aids prevention program for out-of-school, out-of-home youth. Since 1985 I had also been providing hiv counseling and testing in a variety of public health programs. After ten years of working with people at risk for and with hiv and aids-gay men, injection drug users, street kids-in the health department, in non-profits and in the streets I was tired and near burnout. With the blessing (and financial support) of Rod, we moved to LA and I stopped working.

Being free of a job was truly liberating. I restored our house in Eagle Rock, spent several months traveling around the country, worked on my tan and hung out with Rod. A year ago last January, a friend asked me if I wanted to do the California AIDS Ride. We trained, raised the money, and did it. During my time off, I had been focusing on changing my career away from public health and hiv/aids. By the time I finished the Ride I had decided to go back into the work with the people I love and care about. After working in the LA County Department of Health Services for seven months, I was offered the position of Interim Executive Director by the Board of Directors of Being Alive.

The first question I believe we need to deal with is where has Being Alive been and where is it going in the face of a rapidly changing epidemic. In speaking with people who have been around Being Alive for many years, reading about past activities and looking at videos, I am overwhelmed by the power and beauty of the founders' simple notion. People with hiv and aids can take control of their lives and do what needs to be done. Defining what needed to be done was probably never a truly easy task, but now it is even more complex. Are the programs that were very relevant to the lives of PWAs a year ago meeting people's needs today?

There is much talk of the "Lazarus effect"-people near death who, with the aid of protease and other new medications ("cocktails"), have regained much of their health and even returned to work. It's a great thing for many people, but it's not the whole story. It's great if you can get the medication (at about $15,000 a year), great if you can tolerate the side effects, great if you can take it as it needs to be taken, and great if the medication doesn't fail you as it appears to do in about 35% of people. Is starting programs for returning to work appropriate, particularly if they come at the expense of the other support and services for PWAs? Are those that have been failed by the medications going to feel as though they themselves somehow failed?

With the advent of cocktail therapy, many women and men who have never been disabled by hiv are now entering the hiv health care system. Some say the aids epidemic is over. There are now fewer people being diagnosed with "aids," but more people than ever receiving treatment. What are their needs? Is Being Alive a place that meets the needs of these people, folks who may not feel "sick" at all?

As you can see, I have these and many, many more questions. I believe that the answers to these questions will reveal themselve with time and, most importantly, with the input and effort of the individuals infected and affected by hiv.

I would like to hear from Being Alive members, Newsletter readers and others. Together we can make it through this time of uncertainty. Send me your thoughts at the address/phone number/e-mail for the Silverlake office: 213/667-3262 or BeingAlive@aol.com I look forward to working with you.

970701
BA970702

Copyright © 1997 - Beings Alive. Permission granted for noncommercial reproduction, provided that our address and phone number are included if more than short quotations are used. Subscription lists are kept confidential. Being Alive, 621 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069, Tel - 310.289.2551; FAX - 310.289.9866; Email: BeiAlive@aol.com  http://www.beingalivela.org/