Next week, San Francisco AIDS Foundation will host a public forum, "What is Our Story? Perspectives from the AIDS Generation," to continue conversations about our community's needs, priorities, and legacy �" and to help shape the 50-Plus Network, the foundation's new program for older gay and bisexual men.
My own story as a gay man in the Castro starts in 1977. There was a huge influx of gay men from around the country who were feeling discrimination and lack of safety for being gay. Once people got to San Francisco, it was like, "The shackles are off!" And that wide-open sexuality brought so much energy. You could see it spill out of the bars and parties and start going into community-building.
The late 1970s saw the flourishing of a gay bank; all of the tellers and officers were gay, and gay people were coming in, giving their gay money to the gay bank. There was the Gay Men's Chorus, the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Marching Band and Twirling Corps, the Gay Police Officer's Association, gay professional guilds, artistic groups. The community was really starting to mature.
And then I remember reading in the New York Times in June 1981: "Gay Men Get Cancer." And slowly I would hear more, and it was getting closer and closer. I remember thinking, "Death is marching toward us."
When people realized how widespread this new illness was becoming, they turned to the doctors and the government for help. Well, the doctors had no clue, and the government wasn't listening. We realized, "Help is not on the way; we have to save ourselves."
We had to build our own service organizations. So much of the energy and effort that had been going into building the community was shifted to building support for the sick and dying.
But there are important legacies from that time. AIDS provided the perfect storm to allow patients to instruct physicians on how to do a better job. Somebody with Kaposi's sarcoma would go to the doctor armed with research they had gleaned from the library; docs weren't used to that.
Most diseases hit isolated individuals. But when AIDS hit this already organized community, there could be a community response. And out of that community response came all the ACT UP organizations and the challenging of medical and research institutions.
When we did focus groups for the 50-Plus Network, almost universally, older guys said, "We're not here asking for you to give us help because we have some kind of pathology and we want you to fix us. What we want is to move forward in a positive way �" but none of us individually knows how to do that. We're looking to this group to provide some structure and guidance."
There are four components to 50-Plus. The first is processing the transition from youth to adult to aging adult. We meet twice a month and focus on specific topics �" say, sex. We'll ask, "What is the role of sex in your life, and what is its meaning for you �" then, and now that you are aging?"
Guys also asked for a social group that's more meaningful than going to a bar. So we helped them put together a mailing list and a social network. It started off with a bang: Someone posted, "I've got 10 free tickets to the Diana Ross concert. First 10 people who say 'yes' get to go with me!"
The third component is community projects. As older gay men, they have learned a lot about life, and they want to share their wisdom and make a contribution. And the fourth part is about social isolation, which puts people at risk for depression and health problems. We're training volunteers to reach out to older gay men who are isolated and bring social activities to them or get them out and about.
The response so far has been terrific. We're still developing, but we have about 50 members on the mailing list. One man who came to 50-Plus told us, "I never leave the house, but my friend hammered on me until I finally agreed, just to shut him up. But now I'm glad he dragged me here."
I think today many people who lived through those days are like war veterans; there was such solidarity then, and mobilization, and they're not finding that anywhere today. There is a conversation today about where the community would be if AIDS hadn't happened. What if all those people were still alive and had grown into powerful positions?
Jeffrey Leiphart, Ph.D., is director of clinical services at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. To share your own story and your perspective �" on where the community would have been, and where you think it should go next �" come to the forum Wednesday, October 23 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the LGBT Community Center, 1800 Market Street. For details and to RSVP, visit http://www.sfaf.org.