19: On the Front Lines

A lot has changed in the last ten years; there has been the boom of the internet followed by the .com crash, presidents have changed, the terror attacks on New York City transformed our world, even the entire Harry Potter phenomenon came and went. Thankfully for many people in Minnesota, one steady influence has been Roger Moore who has conducted street based HIV outreach for the past decade. In his work, Roger reaches out to many people that much of society looks past. His contacts include those who may be homeless, dealing with addiction, or struggle within a cycle of poverty that impacts virtually every aspect of their lives. To Roger, these people are like any other. He does what many talk about but few actually do - he treats all people with respect and looks past their failures to find hope and optimism in difficult circumstances.

Over the last decade Roger has built a reputation in the community as someone that can be trusted to provide help and non-judgmental guidance.Street outreach is an important part of the work done by the Minnesota AIDS Project because many of those served by outreach are at high-risk for HIV if not provided with the information and resources to stay safe. “Right now, we’re seeing a lot of people that don’t think HIV can affect them,” says Moore. “People under 20 think that they’re unstoppable, they’re Superman. And, some of our older baby boomer contacts are also very vulnerable because they’re suspicious about what they hear from the government about healthcare. Especially in the black community, people aren’t sure what to believe,” he added.

Over the last decade Roger has built a reputation in the community as someone that can be trusted to provide help and non-judgmental guidance. “A lot of people just view HIV as one other risk that’s part of their life - work troubles, drug issues, family problems - and if we can help provide support or solutions we can reduce their risk. They mean well but if we weren’t there they’d probably just go back to more risky behavior,” said Moore. In addition to being able to connect personally with a variety of people in the street, he works equally well with local law enforcement who respect the work he’s done and allow him the flexibility needed to work with people who might otherwise not come forward for fear of persecution.

When asked how he knows he makes a difference Roger smiled, "when people don’t need my help anymore."Despite all the progress made thanks to his work, there is more to be done says Moore, “I’d like to get to a time when everybody gives the same message about HIV…schools, parents, churches. If we can come together and share the right information, maybe it’ll stick with young people and they’ll believe it.”

In the course of his work, Roger has had some great successes, failures, and crazy experiences in working with such a diverse group of people and situations. When asked why he does this work and how he knows he makes a difference Roger smiled, “when people don’t need my help anymore. When they come by and say’ I’m doing well’ or ‘I got my kids back’. Those are the times you know you make a difference.”

Last Updated: Thursday, November 6, 2008
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