April, 1991 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

Page 7

New workshop builds courage for taking antibody test

by John Pugh

The question of whether those who are at risk for HIV disease should be tested or not has been raised again because the medical advances in the treatment of the disease now offer some hope to those who have it. If persons are diagnosed in time, there are now medical treatments that can slow down the spread of HIV in the body and prevent some of the opportunistic infections that affect persons with AIDS.

Unfortunately, this information is not widely available among those who are at risk for the disease. In part this is because much of the information in the media is sketchy and incomplete, and in part because the information is not readily available to some. Many of those who are in the health professions also lack this information.

There are also many who, having decided that they don't want to know whether they are infected or not, choose to be ignorant of this information out of fear. Since decesions about whether to be tested are very different than they were several years ago, some way must be found to help those who live in fear to overcome their fears.

In order to meet this problem and to enable persons at risk for HIV disease, the "Should I Be Tested?" Workshop will be introduced by Health Issues Taskforce this spring. The underlying reason for this workshop is to enable each person to reach the decision to be tested for the virus.

In order for the participants to be able to reach their decisions as rationally as possible, the environment for the workshop will be non-threatening and supportive. That is, it will be one that will enable the participants to speak in their own voices without the fear of someone telling them that they are stupid or wrong.

In such an environment each participant should then be able to find in himself or herself the courage to own up to what he or she says and so reach his or her own decision. In order to achieve this, the workshop begins with everyone promising to speak in his or her own voice, by promising not to argue, by everyone promising not to put anyone else down, and by promising to keep everything said in the workshop confidential.

After the promises have been made the participants are then introduced to each

MIND

other; this helps to establish an easy atmosphere where people can call each other by their first names and begin to feel comfortable with each other. After the introductions have been made, the participants are then asked to relate to the group something that they have dreamed about doing but have not yet accomplished in order to introduce a note of hope. Thus at the end of

will be asked to recall the dream that tey expressed at the beginning of the workshop and then will be given a chance to voice any further sentiments.

Training sessions for the facilitators of the workshop began in February. Anyone who is already HIV-positive or anyone

who has already been tested may serve as a facilitator. There will be two facilitators for each workshop; one of them will be HIV-positive so that he or she can show the participants that it is possible to live after a positive test result. For further details call

the workshop each person is asked to recall Shea has show at namesake gallery

his or her dream.

The next section of the workshop begins by asking again the question, “Should I be tested?" The question being asked is not, "Should one be tested?" but, "Should I be tested?," a question that each of them are to ask him or herself.

There are no right or wrong answers to the question: the feelings the question arouses and the answers that they give are legitimate. The point of this section is to deal with the question personally. Thus each participant is aked to give his or her reason why each thinks that he or she should or should not be tested.

When everyone has had his or her say, the next section of the workshop begins. In this section the participants are given the best and latest information on the status of the disease, the course of treatment, the latest advances in treatment, and to inform them where they might find further information.

The facilitators will also explain the tests for the HIV antibody: the Elisa and the Western Blot, and what they test for; they will lay out the course of the disease

Through the month of April, the A. Shea λ Gallery at the Chronicle is displaying the artwork of its namesake. Andrew Shea has selected representative works from his portfolio that include enhanced and altered photographic art.

The work will remain on display through April 30; there will be an opening reception on April 10 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., which everyone is invited to attend.

Shea has devoted much of his life to artistic pursuits, and majored in photography at the Art Institute of Boston, where he won several first-place scholarships. His concentration is expressive photographic art. He uses alternative processes such as Kwik-Print and cyanotype to print photographs on paper or canvas, often enhancing them with paint or markers. He has employed several different techniques, inIcluding image projections on the male figure, negative scratching, and his own textured paper for prints.

from initial infection by the virus to the Metroparks

apperance of full blown AIDS, and explain what is meant by asymptomatic HIV-positive, ARC, and AIDS; they will explain what treatments there are for the disease and for the opportunistic infections; and they will explain how the progress of the disease is monitored without being too techinical. They will also give information on community resources (including clinical drug trials).

The point of all of this is to show the participants that the disease is no longer a death sentence, that it is possible to have a life with quality after diagnosis. At the end of this section there is time for answering of questions of participants.

As the workshop closes, the participants

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Continued from page 1

Pontoni addressed the board, outlining the community's concerns about unequal enforcement of the law and requesting that the board look into the issues expressed in the previous meeting. Board President Rzepka replied that he didn't believe gays and lesbians were being treated differently but if after an investigation it was found that they were, the board would institute a policy prohibiting unequal treatment.

Vice President Corcoran said he believed that lesbians and gay men did have civil rights under the law, saying, "If they live in this country, they are protected under the Constitution." Even after explanations from Pontoni about the lack of civil rights for lesbians and gays, Corcoran still did not seem to understand the concerns expressed to him.

Since the board meeting is open to the

Shea has had numerous showings in Boston and the Cleveland area (including the Fiori Gallery, Truffles Pastries, It's It Deli, Cleveland State University, the Near West Theatre, and the C'est Si Bon Restaurant in Akron), and has donated work to benefit the Lesbian-Gay Community Service Center and the Living Room.

The work on display during April will be offered at discounted prices for those interested in purchasing any of the photographs.

The A. Shea 2 Gallery was started to provide a safe, uncensored space for gay and lesbian artists to exhibit their work. Each exhibit is scheduled for a month; artists interested in using the space may call the paper to arrange an appointment.

The Gallery is located at the offices of the Chronicle, on the first floor of 2206 Superior Viaduct, which runs northeast from the intersection of Detroit Avenue and West 25th Street. Call 621-5280 for gallery hours and directions. ▼

public, a reporter from the Plain Dealer was present and interviewed both Wertheim and Chief Oliver. The story was carried the next day on the front page of the Metro section of the Plain Dealer. Unfortunately, the PD only printed the rangers' story of the incidents in question. The men who are challenging the rangers in court have a totally different story. (The Chronicle is not printing either story until after their trial, so as not to jeopardize the men's defense.)

If you, or anyone you know, has received unequal treatment in the Metroparks, such as being singled out or harassed because you are gay or lesbian, it is important that you contact Aubrey Wertheim at the Center so that such incidents can be documented. You may remain anonymous if you wish. Call the Maryann Finegan Project at 522-1999.

Wertheim plans to follow up with the sensitivity training and another meeting with Chief Oliver.

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