HIV + PNP Community Forum - March 29, 2004

Community Forum on Crystal and HIV Epidemics
Produced by the Positive Force Program of the STOP AIDS Project
Featured Panelist, Peter Staley, Creator of "Huge Sale, Buy Meth Get, HIV For Free" Social Marketing Campaign in Manhattan
Media Contact: Jason Riggs, Communications Director
STOP AIDS Project
415-871-7351

On Thursday April 8 at 6:30p at The Center, the Positive Force Program of the STOP AIDS Project will hold a community forum on the critical issue of crystal meth use and HIV in the gay community. The forum, entitled "HIV + PNP: Personal Activism in Response to the Crystal Epidemic," will focus on how individuals and community leaders have stepped up to the plate to be a part of the solution.

"Many newly diagnosed HIV positive men attending our Positive Force events and PLUS Seminars are telling us that a major catalyst for them becoming HIV positive was a single weekend 'recreational partying' or a crystal habit that eventually took over their lives," said Jeff Jones, Positive Force Program Manager.

"It is clear from the stories of those testing HIV positive and recent data that the crystal epidemic is leading to an increase in new HIV infections," said Jones. "This forum is for friends and community members to come together and learn from leaders who have made a positive impact on this issue."
Among the panelists at the HIV + PNP Forum are Peter Staley and Frank Strona (see bios below). Staley is a long-time AIDS activist who personally funded an ad campaign last January with $6,000. The message of the ad campaign focused on the epidemic of crystal meth use leading to increased rates of HIV and syphilis infections. Ads on six phone booth kiosks in Chelsea announced, "Huge Sale, Buy Crystal, Get HIV Free!"

Positive Force is a diverse community of HIV positive men who support one another through social and educational events. The program helps empower HIV positive men to take an active role in HIV prevention. The PLUS Seminar is a free educational and experiential two-day weekend seminar for men recently diagnosed with HIV. These two prevention with positives programs are part of an array of HIV prevention efforts at the STOP AIDS Project built by and for gay, bisexual and transgendered men in San Francisco.Panelist Bios
Peter Staley.

Peter Staley was diagnosed with AIDS-related complex in 1985 while working as a bond trader at JP Morgan on Wall Street. He joined ACT UP New York shortly after its founding in 1987, and headed its fundraising committee for three years. In 1988, he left his Wall Street job to become a full-time AIDS activist, joining ACT UP's Treatment & Data Committee (T&D).

In 1989, Staley led ACT UP's campaign to force Burroughs Wellcome to lower the price of AZT. He organized activists to infiltrate Burroughs Wellcome's North Carolina headquarters and seal themselves in a third-floor office, and led a demonstration on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, disrupting trading and resulting three days later in a price reduction of AZT. In 1990, Staley was an opening plenary speaker at the VI International Conference on AIDS in San Francisco.

In January 1992, Staley and other members of T&D left ACT UP and founded the Treatment Action Group (TAG). TAG's first action and "art project" involved covering Senator Jesse Helms' home with a giant condom. In 1993, TAG successfully lobbied for a radical restructuring of the management of the government's AIDS research effort. The NIH Revitalization Act created a powerful Office of AIDS Research (OAR) to provide coordination, strategic planning, and leadership in the NIH's AIDS research programs.
In 1994, Staley was appointed by President Clinton to the National Task Force on AIDS Drug Development. He has also been a member of amfAR's board of directors since 1991.

Staley left TAG in 1997, and spent two years searching for an idea that would fulfill his dream of running his own business. In March of 2000, he proudly launched a web site called AIDSmeds.com, offering complete and easy-to-read treatment information for people living with HIV. Since then, AIDSmeds.com has become one of the most popular HIV-related sites on the Web, receiving over 250,000 visits a month.

In January, 2004, Staley launched a personal ad campaign to bring much needed attention to an epidemic of crystal meth use among gay men, leading to increased rates of HIV and syphilis infections. Using $6,000 of his own money, he paid for six phone booth kiosk ads in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York that said "Huge Sale, Buy Crystal, Get HIV Free!" He also came out publicly as a recovering crystal meth addict.

Within days, the ads, along with the issues they raised, became a major news story, with coverage in The New York Times and on all three local TV stations. The New York Daily News mentioned the ads in a lead editorial called "Crystal Meth's Clear and Present Danger," and the city's health officials and political leaders began to respond.

Frank Strona
With 15 years as a front line specialist in men's health and wellness issues. He has been busy creating, inspiring, and launching unconventional programs promoting health, safety and sexual choice with often, hard to reach or ignored populations. Currently he is also the director of www.SafeSexCity.com. the only national online social network venue for men of any hiv status who look to connect online and commit to condom usage and testing regularly for STDs. Mr. Strona is also the Prevention Services Manager with Walden House, San Francisco's largest residential treatment facility. Both positions offer an opportunity to stretch and test the boundaries in offering non-traditional methods for harm reduction and healthy sexuality.

Frank's writings have been published nationwide and his workshops focus on looking at a person as a "whole," instead of one singular issue or conflict. With his unique ability to balance personal attention and utmost professionalism, he is considered a "specialty educator," having established relationships with state and federal agencies. Frank stresses the importance of improving feelings on sexuality, harm reduction and HIV education with a special focus on alternate relationships and public/professional sex venues. Frank Strona has dedicated his life to mentoring men and women from topics ranging from intimacy to breaking taboos and fear, boundaries, verbal and physical communication, fetishes, dating, sex parties, and monogamy. More information can be found at his professional website; www.mentorsf.com.