For over a year, AIDS Services of Austin (ASA) has pioneered in the area of
offering support services for HIV-negative gay and bisexual men in and around
the AIDS epidemic. The Staying Negative Program of ASA continues to provide
support groups for HIV-negative men, supplying a safe place to come together
and discuss how we are affected by this epidemic. As gay men, we live in
a community that is saturated with HIV-related issues. We have lost friends and
loved ones, have had our sexuality severely compromised, and some of us
experience a sense of survivor guilt so habitual that it goes unnoticed. Gay
and bisexual men deserve an opportunity to talk about these issues and reclaim
the ability to think for ourselves about AIDS and HIV, sex, and relationships.
ASA is proud to announce the start of another eight-week support group for
HIV-negative gay and bisexual men. In late October, Sex, HIV, and Homophobia:
An Eight-Week Support Series will make its second run. The first series,
which ended in late September, was tremendously successful. It brought a group
of men very close together, provided its participants with a resource never
before available, and was a lot of fun.
The new group will be a closed, 10-12 person, eight-week support group that
provides HIV-negative gay men with a safe outlet to discuss issues around sex
and HIV that are seldom honestly talked about. The group’s design also allows
its participants to explore the effects of gay oppression on our lives and our
communities. Addressing and taking charge of the way our sex lives have been
impacted by HIV and homophobia can be an enormously valuable endeavor — it is
also something that doesn’t have to be done alone.
If you are interested in one of these support groups, call Kenny Shults at
406-6165.
This article appears in October 11 • 1996 and October 11 • 1996 (Cover).