Gay and Lesbian Health Conference
held in Denver, June 9-12
by Phil Nash, Gay Press Association
An enthusiastic group of women and men
literally joined hands at the close of the Fifth
Lesbian and Gay Health Conference, held in
Denver June 9 through 12. They included
doctors, clinical workers, health
administrators and educators, lesbian and gay
activists and persons with AIDS.
“Health Pioneering in the ‘80’s,” as the
conference was titled, featured workshops,
symposia and medical forums addressing the
full range of issues affecting the health of gay
men and lesbians. To no one’s surprise,
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
(AIDS) claimed the most attention from the
nearly 300 registered participants.
The conference was jointly sponsored by the
National Gay Health Education Foundation
(NGHEF), the American Association of
Physicians for Human Rights and the Gay and
Lesbian Health Alliance of Denver.
Throughout the weekend, participants
attended sessions ranging from sophisticated
medical and scientific presentations to
informal exchanges of ideas on health
alternatives. The conference treated the issues
of health holistically, integrating spiritual and
political issues into some formal policy
decisions developed in various workshops.
In greeting the delegates, Dr. Paul Paroski,
outgoing president of NGHEF, decried the
loss of trust between activists and
organizations around the country. Paroski
said personal glory, territorialism and secret
agendas had replaced positive and supportive
cooperative efforts of the past.
“Look around and look at the people who
want power. Like AIDS, this antipathy is
killing us.” Paroski called upon the conferees
to “realize that everyone in this room has
something unique and valuable to offer.” He
continued, “We do not have to re-invent the
wheel in New York, re-invent it again in San
Francisco, Atlanta, and then in Denver.”
Paroski was alluding to behind the scenes
strife between some organizations which have
approached policy decisions and handling of
priorities differently during the AIDS
epidemic.
National AIDS Federation Founded
As if in response to Paroski’s remarks,
thirty-eight separate organizations joined
together at the Health Conference to form a
federation of AIDS groups. The two top
priorities of the new group are to establish a
lobbying project and to develop a resource
and information network, according to the
founding guidelines developed at the
conference.
With a goal of raising $200,000 nationally,
and making half that amount available within
the first thirty days of the federation, plans call
for offices to be established in Washington,
D.C. Ron Vachon, Executive Director of the
National Gay Health Education Foundation
has been selected interim director of the
resource and information project, to be
temporarily headquartered in the offices of
NGHEF in New York City. New York’s Gay
Men’s Health Crisis was chosen to be the
federation’s temporary treasurer and will
provide volunteers to assist in the resource
project.
The federation was founded, in part, to
better share information, avoid duplicative
efforts and to unify efforts at carrying out
actions throughout the country. The Interim
Steering Committee of the Lobbying Project
will choose a selection committee to hire a
lobbyist who will select a staff of three other
persons, including a media coordinator,
according to current plans.
The permanent steering committee plans to
meet in New York City in mid-August.
Persons with AIDS Have Powerful Effect
One of the most strongly felt presences at the
Health Conference was that of a dozen or so
gay men with AIDS. In informal discussions,
these men spoke openly of their concerns with
conference participants. One of their primary
concerns, they said, was about being
portrayed as “victims” in the media.
Bobbi Campbell, who has AIDS and writes
about AlDs in a gay newspaper said he got
frustrated talking to the media about his
experience with AIDS only to have the media
identify him as a victim. He also says he is only
an AIDS patient about four hours of every
week, and the word “patient” carries a
connotation of passivity. Campbell now uses
the term “persons with AIDS” to refer to those
with the disease. “Language not only reflects
thought, but shapes it,” says Campbell.
Other gay men with AIDS shared a fear of
being considered “lepers” or “damaged goods”
by their own community and voiced
opposition to that myth. One man said that he
formed his first long-lasting relationship in a
continued on page 5
“AIDS is a medical issue first,” said CDC’s James Curran, a political issue second.” In the
photo, from left to right, are: Jeff Richards (AIDS Forum Coordinator), Curran (CDC),
Fran Miller and Dan Pheffer (Conference Coordinators).
People with AIDS express feelings
of frustration, need for adaptation
by Phil Nash and Bill Britt
At a workshop titled, “Meeting the Needs of
People with AIDS”, held at the Fifth Lesbian
and Gay Health Conference in Denver, five
men told a gathering of about 85 people about
the experiences of living with an incurable
disease. The five had been diagnosed with
AIDS, a disease that has now struck over
1,500 people, nearly three quarters of them
gay men, in the last three years.
Bob Cecchi told the group he had just
started working a new job as a carpenter when
he was diagnosed with AIDS over a year ago.
He said he continued to work hard until the
debilitating effects of the disease took over.
“One day I went to work and I picked up my
hammer and it felt about forty pounds heavier
than it did the day before, and aftera couple of
hours of work, I knew that it was the end of
(the job).” As he fought to control his tears, in
a voice cracking with emotion, Cecchi told the
audience he didn’t believe he would live long
enough to build something so that others
would remember him. “As qualified as all of
you are,” he told the various health
professionals, “nobody understands what it’s
like to be in this condition.”
The workshop was to give health care
workers the opportunity to discuss the aspects
of patient care, not only with their peers, but
with those with AIDS as well. But as this
workshop, scheduled halfway through the
conference, Cecchi expressed dismay with
doctors and other conference attendees. He
said he expected to have spent more time
talking with health providers about AIDs.
“You people aren't using me and I am here to
be used. Only one person in the conference has
come up to me and asked me a patient-related
question.. .Get to the bottom of it.” he
challenged. “Don’t be afraid of what you have
to ask me.”
Ceechi's attitude characterized the
frustration also expressed by several other gay
men with AIDS who attended the conference.
Because AIDS is regarded as the scientific
community’s newest challenge, those with the
disease are struggling with the prospect of a
drastically shortened life even as researchers
peer into diseased cells and collapsed immune
systems in search of a cure.
To help AIDS sufferers, dozens of health
care projects, many dealing exclusively with
AIDS, have formed across the country.
continued on page 3
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