25 Years / 25 Stories

13: A Community Stands Together

Everyone seeks a place of acceptance and home. However, for many in the GLBT community it may take on a new look rather than a typical family structure. While many people are more comfortable and accepting than in the past, there are a large number of GLBT individuals that don't have the support of their immediate family and friends.

In the 1990s, as HIV was having a significant impact in the local gay and bisexual community, the Minnesota AIDS Project realized that HIV prevention needed more than solely a condom distribution program. To make significant progress in changing long–term behavior among gay and bisexual men, there had to be a program to engage as much of the community as possible. And it had to be a program that worked to rebuild a community of strong and confident leaders to replace those lost to AIDS, which was nearly two thousand Minnesotans at that time. With the goal in mind to impact long term behavioral changes and build a community of future leaders, PrideAlive was born. The fundamental concept behind the program is that gay and bisexual men are the best advocates for their own health and that they should plan and implement programs for their own community. In addition, the group sought to address the inherent stigma that surrounded being gay in America in a positive manner.

During the past ten years, PrideAlive staff administered approximately 2,000 tests to members of the community.

PrideAlive began in 1998 with programming that worked to bring gay or bisexual men together first for brunches at private homes and later for Cafe Chats, held at local coffee shops, to talk about issues and challenges facing them in terms of sexuality and life in the Twin Cities. The chats served a meeting point and general discussion group for many men who were interested in hearing from others sharing a similar life experience.

HIV testing was, and still is, an important service that PrideAlive launched in a variety of settings to reach people throughout the metro area. In 1998, the Minnesota AIDS Project become the first community based organization in Minnesota to offer a new test, Orasure®, which was an oral fluid test that was easy to run and was highly accuracy. The test was administered by placing an oral swab between the cheek and gum for three minutes. After the specimen was collected it was sent to a lab to be processed and results were available within a week. During the past ten years, PrideAlive staff administered approximately 2,000 tests to members of the community at our office, in our mobile van, or at local gay venues. The testing program got another face–lift in 2007 when the organization decided to use a new rapid testing technology called the Unigold Recombigen Rapid HIV Antibody test that takes only 10 minutes to process and can be completely done on site. Because the new test is processed so quickly, PrideAlive is able to test more people on a single outreach session and testers do not have to return for results, which means that more people will receive their results.

Today, you'll find PrideAlive still very active at local gay bars promoting safer sex and offering testing options.

Over the last ten years, PrideAlive has changed with the times to continue to be visible and active in the community through social events while consistently monitoring emerging trends and their impact on HIV infections. Over time, risks for HIV have changed and so have the attitudes and co–factors affecting the risks facing gay and bisexual men. A sampling of the changes have included condom fatigue, AIDS optimism, the rise of the Internet, and the aging of the HIV epidemic have joined with lowered self esteem stemming from homophobia and substance abuse as co–factors affecting HIV risk behaviors.

Today, you'll find PrideAlive still very active at local gay bars promoting safer sex and offering testing options. However, you'll also see PrideAlive staff online providing HIV risk information and counsel to men chatting online at a variety of social networking sites or hosting events discussing current trends in sexuality and risk reduction. A program that began to build community can now claim thousands of volunteers, participants, and supporters as its own. Ten years later, PrideAlive has a great deal to be proud of in helping thousands of gay or bi men find community and stay safe.

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