Denver Gay Men Wanted for Local HIV Vaccine Study

Do you care about Denver's gay community? Do you care about yourself? Are you passionate and courageous with a big heart? Put that passion toward finding an HIV vaccine. 

Click here to find out more and volunteer for a Denver HIV Vaccine Study.

Denver Speaks Out on World AIDS Day: Bryan McKay, Volunteer Extraordinaire

Bryan McKay, Volunteer, Element, Embrace, Colorado AIDS Project, and The Center - "I personally feel that knowing is power. Not only for me, but for the person I am with. Knowing your status and talking about it,  being neg or poz, can and will help build a stronger communication bond for a possible relationship."

World AIDS Day is held on 1 December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day and the first one was held in 1988.

The Gay Community Speaks Out on World AIDS Day: Team Friendly Colorado

Team Friendly Colorado - "HIV and AIDS has been a part of gay culture and American life for over 30 years. In that time we have fought to protect ourselves, to educate our community and to save our lives. We won the war to save our lives. We stopped the death. But we forgot to fight for the living. The stigma that still surrounds HIV/AIDS prevents people from disclosing their status, from discussing their status and, in some cases, from knowing their status. Mr Friendly's mission is a world free of HIV stigma. His unique +/- sign design is intended to inspire conversations, to get people talking about HIV/AIDS. If you talk about your status and know your risks, you can have all the “Dirty” fun you want and still prevent transmission.

As Team Friendly Colorado, we hope to help spread this message to the entire state of Colorado, and not just to it's LGBT community. This tiny button, that translates in any language but has no words, delivers a simple message. “I am free of HIV Stigma” And it's our goal to get that message to every Coloradan we can, one conversation at a time.

Mr Friendly's message is sex-positive. We don't judge who you have sex with, how you do it, or what you are on while you are doing it. Educate yourself so you can make the right choices for you and your partner. Our message is not about safe sex, but smart sex."

World AIDS Day is held on 1 December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day and the first one was held in 1988.

World AIDS Day: HIV Is My Undetectable Bitch

By Philip Doyle

I hope to live a long, loving, and healthy life.  Not just for me, but for my brothers and sisters who were robbed of life’s opportunities.  

I found out that I was HIV+ in 2008 when I was diagnosed with AIDS.  Physically I was a wreck.  I compare it to one of those characters at the end of an Indiana Jones movie.  You know the bad guy who takes a risk, then gets a shocked look on their face before rapidly aging and turning to dust in seconds?  That’s how I felt.  It took a long time to recover, to get on the right meds, and restore my immune system.  Science has taken phenomenal leaps, and I live my life as a tribute to those who didn’t have the chance at life that I did.  I am left standing because an army of people has gone before me.

In some ways the physical recovery was the easy part.  Learning how to overcome stigma and morality judgments can be a challenge.  “Are you clean?” is a question that kind of bugs me.  Heck yes, I’m clean!  Sure, sometimes my car is a mess, but I take showers, wash my clothes, and my leather boots are kept immaculate.

Here’s another question, “How did you become HIV+?” I contracted the virus because it has existed for years and years.  It has lived in the bodies of remarkable men, women, and children.  It has prospered in prostitutes, and drug addicts.  It’s the same virus that has survived inside talented artists, brilliant gay men, and dedicated lovers, who have long since passed.  HIV has snuffed out dear friends and unseen strangers, and now continues to live on, inside me.  That is how I got it.

I am learning not to be shy about disclosing my status.  I own it.  With the help of friends, family, and modern medicine, I have repressed the virus, and made it my undetectable bitch.  My goal is to hold it down and take responsibility for my health, and for the lives of others.  And that pesky virus that has been bouncing from person to person, living for decades, will finally die with me.

World AIDS Day is held on 1 December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day and the first one was held in 1988.

On World Aids Day, Planned Parenthood Health Centers Is Poised to Play Key Role in Delivering New HIV Coverage to Americans

Dec. 1 is World Aids Day. There are approximately 1.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. and every 10 minutes someone is diagnosed with HIV.

Under the Affordable Care Act, millions more people will be eligible for health insurance and HIV care. Currently, insurers will be required to fully cover annual counseling and screening for HIV infection for all sexually active women, as well as HIV screening for adolescents and adults age 13-64 who are at higher risk for contracting HIV. In November, the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommended that all Americans ages 15-65 receive routine HIV testing, not just those most at risk. If finalized, this would mean insurers would have to cover HIV screening without a co-pay.

“The Affordable Care Act provides unprecedented opportunities for Americans to work together in changing the course of this epidemic,” said Amy Dickson, vice president of clinical operations for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains. “With new investments in sex education and the evolution of health technology as a means to educate and communicate with more people than ever before, we have new tools in the fight against HIV/AIDS.”

Reproductive health care providers like Planned Parenthood health centers will play a large role in translating these new requirements into expanded access to health care for people across the country. Planned Parenthood is among the nation’s leading providers of HIV screening in the U.S. In fact, one in three women who receive an HIV test is tested at a women’s health center like Planned Parenthood. In 2011, Planned Parenthood affiliates conducted 680,000 HIV tests, a 16 percent increase from 2010.

Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains is working to reduce the high rates of sexually transmitted infections through education and screenings, in an effort to create the healthiest generation ever. PPRM health centers provide quality, nonjudgmental care to women, men, and young people, regardless of their ability to pay. Last year, we saw 121,400 patients and provided 15,000 HIV screenings.

On World AIDS Day and every day, there is much to be done. Talk to your friends and family about this global problem, ensure your loved ones get the information and care they need and deserve, and let your legislators know that you support investments in family planning. To make an appointment for HIV testing, visit www.pprm.org.

How to Survive a Plague, a chapter in gay history, comes to Denver today!

IFC Films presents HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE, the story of two coalitions—ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group)—whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition.

HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE opens at the Denver Film Center Colfax on October 12!

Check out the MileHighGayGuy interview with director David France here.

Be fierce. Volunteer for a Denver HIV vaccine study.

What does being "Fierce" mean?

Passionate?

Courageous?

Volunteers are Fierce. And they're helping to find an HIV vaccine.

Click here to find out more and volunteer for a Denver HIV Vaccine Study.

Director David France talks How To Survive A Plague

By Drew Wilson

How to Survive A Plague, a documentary from journalist/filmmaker David France, tells the story of ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group) - whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition. Despite having no scientific training, these self-made activists infiltrated the pharmaceutical industry and helped identify promising new drugs, moving them from experimental trials to patients in record time.

With unfettered access to a treasure trove of never-before-seen archival footage from the 1980s and '90s, filmmaker David France puts the viewer smack in the middle of the controversial actions, the heated meetings, the heartbreaking failures, and the exultant breakthroughs of heroes in the making.

Dedicated to France's lover, Colorado native Doug Gould, who died of AIDS complications in 1992, the film has been getting rave reviews and premieres in Denver on Sunday, October 21.

Drew Wilson: David, How to Survive A Plague has been getting rave reviews. How does that feel and what have been some of your favorite responses to the movie?

David Francis: I am mostly surprised but also heartened by the way that younger audiences are responding to it. It’s such an historic story. It’s from my gay youth but people see an inspiration in it for the whole community, I think. The feedback I get from people is this kind of new or renewed sense of community and that’s really rewarding.

As a journalist, you’ve been covering HIV/AIDS and the gay community since the early days. What was that like?

I began covering it for Gay Community News which, at the time, was a well-respected weekly out of Boston and really the only paper doing true gay journalism at the time. The Advocate existed but they weren’t really doing reporting. Then New York Native came out and became the go-to paper for anyone interested in AIDS, the scientific community, the infected and affected communities. 

HIV and AIDS was so scary and coverage was so controversial back then. Did you encounter a lot of resistance to your reporting?

I was reporting in the gay presses so there was no resistance, only hunger for the information people needed to survive. By 1983 or 1984, half of the gay male population in New Yorkwas HIV positive. We were in constant crisis mode and we really couldn’t produce enough news to satisfy the need for information. I started covering the crisis in 1981 or 1982 and it wasn’t until 1987 that the first pill came out. What people were looking for was just some hope, something to hold onto that they could get through this. We were reporting on underground drug experiments and underground pharmacies across the country where people would go to get drugs illegally. If people died during the drug trials their friend and lovers would bring whatever drugs they had left to these underground pharmacists so there was a real network of stuff that was happening - none of which produced any good results, but without it the prognosis was certain death.

And that feeling of having nothing to lose was a big part of the reason why ACT UP came bursting out of the “underground.”

Yes, they came from the underground with the realization that the underground wasn’t going to save them. They had to go above ground. They had to go to Big Pharma and the FDA and convince them and direct them into the proper way to fight this epidemic. And that’s the trajectory of the characters in the film as they ultimately invade the halls of science and force themselves into partnerships with doctors and scientists. They weren’t being welcomed, they had to knock the doors down.

And in addition to resistance from “above ground” establishments, ACT UP faced a lot of resistance and condemnation even from segments of the GLBT community.

It was so controversial, what they were doing. They were breaking laws, they were engaging in civil disobedience. They were shouting down politicians and disturbing the peace and many GLBT organizations opposed them officially. But their strength was that they had thousands of people worldwide who became part of the ACT UP movement and the could show up at any place and any time with thousands of people arguing a single point and that showed that they had grassroots support and that gave them the strength to pursue their points.

Looking back, what would you say is the legacy of ACT UP and AIDS activism?

AIDS activism changed everything. In declaring their rights to healthcare they first had to declare their rights to civil rights and that gave us the acceptance we see today for gays and lesbians. When the epidemic opened in 1981 we didn’t have any of that stuff. Nobody was talking gay marriage. There was nobody who even saw that as a possibility back then. Out of the ashes of this terrible plague came the modern gay rights movement and that’s pretty phenomenal.

Do you think ‘How to Survive A Plague’ will bring a renewed sense of urgency to the fight against HIV/AIDS?

Man, I hope so. Have you looked at the statistics of what’s going on out there? HIV rates of men who have sex with men are skyrocketing. It’s crazy, 58 percent of all new infections are young gay and bisexual men and those men only make up one percent of the population. It’s a growing epidemic in the community and people don’t talk about it. Young men are so disconnected from the idea of HIV that they don’t know if they are positive or negative.

As a community we need to embrace the idea of responsibility to one another and love for one another and oneself. That message, if we can get people to see it, is an infectious message. We need to be reminded that we are part of a community and that we have a burden and responsibility and opportunity and that, I think, is the message of the film.

What message do you have for readers of MileHighGayGuy and Denver’s gay community?

Everybody needs to know the inspirational quality of our history. The empowerment that we inherit from generation to generation, the shoulders that we stand on, and that we come from a line of heroes. This is a story about the heroes that made it possible for us to be alive today. This is our story.

Win tickets to advance Denver screening of How To Survive A Plague

Want to be one of the lucky few to see an advance Denver screening of HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE on Wednesday, October 3 at 7pm?

You can enter to win an admit-two pass by texting the word EQUALITY and your ZIP CODE to 43549.

(Entry deadline: 10/1 at midnight; Example Text: EQUALITY 80246). Winners will be notified on Tuesday, October 2.  There is no charge to text 43KIX. Message and data rates from your wireless carrier may apply. Remember, movie companies overbook previews, so arrive early because seating is not guaranteed.

IFC Films presents HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE, the story of two coalitions—ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group)—whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition. HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE opens at the Denver Film Center Colfax on October 12!

Gay Denver tops and bottoms wanted for HIV/AIDS Vaccine study

Get on top of HIV prevention and volunteer for an HIV vaccine study through HopeTakesAction.org. 

They are looking for HIV-negative, 18-50 year-old-men and transwomen who ♥ men to volunteer in a vaccine study. Don't worry ... you can't get HIV from the vaccine, and you will be compensated for your time. 

Denver gay men wanted for HIV/AIDS study

Get on top of HIV prevention and volunteer for an HIV vaccine study through HopeTakesAction.org. 

They are looking for HIV-negative, 18-50 year-old-men and transwomen who ♥ men to volunteer in a vaccine study. Don't worry ... you can't get HIV from the vaccine, and you will be compensated for your time. 

Denver Tops and Bottoms Wanted for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Study

Get on top of HIV prevention and volunteer for an HIV vaccine study through HopeTakesAction.org. 

They are looking for HIV-negative, 18-50 year-old-men and transwomen who ♥ men to volunteer in a vaccine study. Don't worry ... you can't get HIV from the vaccine, and you will be compensated for your time.

HIV/AIDS: Are we currently experiencing the second wave of the epidemic?

Writing for AlterNet, Michael Bouldin examines the alarming rise in HIV and AIDS rates among American gay men. Is this truly the Second Wave of HIV/AIDS?

Denver Tops and Bottoms Wanted!

Get on top of HIV prevention and volunteer for an HIV vaccine study through HopeTakesAction.org. 

They are looking for HIV-negative, 18-50 year-old-men and transwomen who ♥ men to volunteer in a vaccine study. Don't worry ... you can't get HIV from the vaccine, and you will be compensated for your time. 

Denver Tops and Bottoms Wanted!

Get on top of HIV prevention and volunteer for an HIV vaccine study through HopeTakesAction.org. 

They are looking for HIV-negative, 18-50 year-old-men and transwomen who ♥ men to volunteer in a vaccine study. Don't worry ... you can't get HIV from the vaccine, and you will be compensated for your time. 

Denver Tops and Bottoms Wanted!

Get on top of HIV prevention and volunteer for an HIV vaccine study through HopeTakesAction.org. 

They are looking for HIV-negative, 18-50 year-old-men and transwomen who ♥ men to volunteer in a vaccine study. Don't worry ... you can't get HIV from the vaccine, and you will be compensated for your time. 

Denver Tops and Bottoms Wanted!

Get on top of HIV prevention and volunteer for an HIV vaccine study through HopeTakesAction.org. 

They are looking for HIV-negative, 18-50 year-old-men and transwomen who ♥ men to volunteer in a vaccine study. Don't worry ... you can't get HIV from the vaccine, and you will be compensated for your time. 

The White House Blog: How Far We've Come On AIDS

Matt Compton, writing for The White House Blog, asked a group of White House officials to discuss the impact of HIV/AIDS and how far we've come in dealing with the disease including:

Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President

 John Berry, Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management

Grant Colfax, Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy 

Brad Kiley, Director of the Office of Management and Administration   

·         Cecilia Muñoz, Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council

·         Gayle Smith: Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Development and Democracy for the National Security Staff

·         Tina Tchen, Chief of Staff to the First Lady

Denver Tops and Bottoms wanted for HIV vaccine study

Get on top of HIV prevention and volunteer for an HIV vaccine study through HopeTakesAction.org. 

They are looking for HIV-negative, 18-50 year-old-men and transwomen who ♥ men to volunteer in a vaccine study. Don't worry ... you can't get HIV from the vaccine, and you will be compensated for your time. 

Jack Mackenroth: Does good. Looks good.

Jack Mackenroth continues to travel the country speaking about HIV education and fighting the stigma. He will be at this year's World AIDS Conference in D.C. on July 20, with the POZ ARMY. (pozarmy.com) Poz Army is a grassroots movement to re-energize the fight against HIV and AIDS, and to push for a cure. Jack is a "general" in the POZ ARMY, joined by fellow celebrity activists like Olympian Greg Louganis, singer Jamar Rogers from The Voice, Ongina from RuPaul's Drag Race, the "Berlin Patient" Timothy Brown, who is the first person to be cured of AIDS, and many other activists. You can do your part by following POZ ARMY on Twitter @pozarmy and by showing support on Facebook.

Jack is in the final stages of preparation for the launch of a new dating/hook-up site and mobile app for HIV-positive guys. HIV-positive men often don't feel welcome on the existing sites and are tired of having to have "the conversation" or worrying about when to disclose their status. This new site will cater to HIV-positive men and help to combat the stigma through visibility. All of the models are HIV-positive and members don't have to feel the stigma of living with HIV. It goes live on Sept. 1 after beta testing. Unfortunately, the site's name is still confidential. Check Jack's Facebook page for updates in August.

Initially the site will be fairly simple in order to build membership. We all know sex sells so that's part of it, but it will also have a health and resources section. As the site grows, they will build more of a community aspect where people can chat in forums and the site can partner with other agencies. They want to have cutting edge information on studies and medication. They've also partnered with Dr. Frank Spinelli who is the go-to guy for HIV education. This could have a massive affect on building a solid HIV-positive community of men who have sex with men. There has never been a site like this before and they aim to hit a million members. The site will be free to sign up and members will control their content so Jack encourages everyone to take a look.

And if you are not following Jack on Twitter--get on it!! He was voted Best Gay Tweeter of 2011/2012 by National Lampoon and one of the Top 10 Celebrity Tweeters by Metrosource Magazine. He's hilarious. 

Jack Mackenroth photos by West Phillips - South Beach