Being Alive, Los Angeles; May 1998
Jim Stoecker

I was living in San Francisco at the time and each morning's Chronicle seemed to bring further dire reports. It felt like a noose tightening around my neck. Then the personal stories came: So-and-so's ex-boyfriend had "it." And the guy in the flower shop was no longer around; he had "it." Men began appearing on the streets who visibly had "it."

"It" soon was given the name AIDS and that word has been an essential part of our vocabulary ever since. In time we learned that AIDS was caused by a virus that was called Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Along came a test to determine if you had HIV in your blood. And then people began to know whether they were facing the potential of AIDS with all its attendant horrors.

Here in Los Angeles, a few gay men got together in the late 80s. They had all taken the test; each was positive for HIV. They faced all the uncertainties of having a disease with no cure and they realized they needed each other. In time, they decided to turn their informal support group into an organization for all people with AIDS. They called it Being Alive. It was-and remains-one of the few organizations in the country that is of, for and by people with AIDS and HIV. Being Alive grew as the needs of people with HIV/AIDS expanded.

Over the years Being Alive evolved to become a vital part of the services for people with AIDS/HIV in Los Angeles. Supports groups were formed and peer-to-peer counseling was offered, where someone with the disease could talk to another in the same situation. We were helping each other, not just "being helped." Being Alive put out the first newsletter written for the people with the disease, not for the physicians and nurses. Monthly medical updates were offered to keep people up-to-date about their options in dealing with AIDS/HIV.

The world keeps changing. Today, as our readers well know, we are in yet another era of AIDS. The effectiveness of triple combination therapy has meant new hope for a long life for many, but by no means all, people with HIV/AIDS. Such an enormous change in how we deal with AIDS directly impacts an organization such as Being Alive. It raises issues about future direction for which no one seems to have a definitive answer. But we need to raise the question: where are we going as an organization of, by and for people with HIV/AIDS?

In this issue, we have included three possible answers to that question. Steve Arias, current president of the Being Alive Board of Directors, offers his view: click here to read it. We hear from Ferd Eggan, former executive director of Being Alive and current AIDS Coordinator for the city of Los Angeles: click here to read his comments. Finally, Walt Senterfitt, former Board president and longtime contributor to this Newsletter, brings his considerable experience and insight to bear on what the times demand.

We offer these viewpoints as an opening of a dialog that all of us with HIV/AIDS ought to be having. This is our organization and we will shape its future. The pages of this Newsletter are open to responses from readers. Let your voice be heard about the future of Being Alive.

980501
BA980501

Copyright © 1998 - Being 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, 3626 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026 TEL: (213) 667-3262; TTD: (213) 661-7837; FAX: (213) 667-2735; Email: BeiAlive@aol.com  http://www.mbay.net/~bngalive/index2.html