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AIDS ADVOCACY GROUPS

Organizations fight AIDS in different ways. Some, like AmFAR (see card 98), support medical research. Others, like GMHC, APLA, and SFAF (see card 108), serve people with AIDS. ACT UP and PWAC are concerned with AIDS policy and those living with AIDS.

ACT UP, the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, was formed in New York in 1987 by Larry Kramer (see card 97), Vito Russo (see card 48), and others, defined as "a diverse nonpartisan group united in anger and committed to direct action to end the AIDS crisis." ACT UP meets with government officials, drug manufacturers, and insurance companies and distributes medical information, condoms, and clean needles. Its protests and demonstrations are often quite theatrical. The ACT UP logo refers to the Nazi holocaust with the pink triangle gay people were forced to wear in Germany and the slogan SILENCE = DEATH. There are local groups in U.S. cities, Europe, and Australia. For information contact ACT UP/New York, (212) 564-2437.

The People with AIDS Coalition (PWAC), founded in 1985 by a group of nine people including Michael Callen (see card 8), is an organization created by and for people with AIDS. Fostering selfempowerment, PWAC encourages people with AIDS to take responsibility for their own health and well being. It opposes the term "victim," which suggests defeat, and disseminates information about all aspects of living with AIDS, including treatment. It publishes the monthly PWA Newsline. With headquarters at 31 West 26th Street, New York, NY 10010, it maintains the only national hotline staffed solely by people with AIDS: 1-800-828-3280.

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