Hey Denver provides free and confidential sexual health services and STD testing for gay men by gay, sex positive counselors. Testing is available most days of the week at their headquarters just off of 17th Avenue in Denver's gay district near Hamburger Mary's, JR's, and the Wrangler.Hey Denver's mission, according to their website, is to "help men who have sex with men have healthy and fulfilling sex lives."
Matt Fisher is the prevention coordinator for Hey Denver and I recently had the chance to sit down with him and ask him a few questions about the importance of getting tested and what sets Hey Denver apart from other sexual health organizations in town.
Drew: So Matt, as prevention coordinator of Hey Denver, what exactly is it you do?Matt: Well, I schedule and run most of the testing here and I also work with Denver Health to do STD testing with them as well.
What purpose does Hey Denver serve?
I feel like Hey Denver kind of meets a need for the gay community in Denver that’s been needed for awhile. So many of us have had bad experiences with being tested or have been made to feel ashamed of our sexual practices or our HIV status. Hey Denver works hard to not only provide testing but to have conversations that are positive and encouraging and we don’t judge people on their sexual practices because the only important thing is finding out your status.
Positive or negative - why is it important to get tested and find out your status?
It’s important to know because if you are negative, you can make choices that will help you stay that way and if you are positive, the longer you go without knowing, the worse it is for your health. And of course there’s the possibility that you could also be spreading HIV to others.
How is Hey Denver different from the other testing sites?
We’re really trying hard to be different from some of the other testing sites. We want to support you. We are not judgmental. If you’ve had an incident that you don’t want to talk about or something that you might be embarrassed about, you can come here. We're free and we're confidential. Give us a try.
