it's something that i have been working on with a couple of other guys for quite some time now. my colleague wrote a couple of grants to get funding for some culturally specific treatment for gay men with meth issues here in denver. to my knowledge there isn't even a gay substance abuse program or group other than the HIV positive ones that are at those clinics. and of course, the needs of gay men who are HIV negative go unmet. and i personally am not sure we are doing ourselves any favors by separating ourselves like that anyway. i mean, aren't we one community. and if some of us are dealing with the issue of HIV in one way, shouldn't we all be participating in that process. because aren't the rest of us dealing with the issue from the other side? or are we in denial? i mean don't most gay men have at least one or two poz friends? and don't they care about the compendium of issues surrounding that. don't most gay men feel that HIV is everyone's issue?
anyway, wow- i really got on a rant. so the meth project is designed to provide a safe place for gay men (both poz and neg) to actively learn and deal with the issues around meth use. including some looks at their sexual behaviors around meth. and hopefully we will also be providing a place and the space for gay men to relearn to help each other and communicate (whatever that looks like). i know that much of my adult life has been spent looking for validation. and much of that can come from other gay men. and i presume i am not that different than most gay men in that respect. and if a more generic gay men's substance abuse program comes from this, more's the better. i mean, it's not like there aren't any issues in our community. and i think it might actually be healthy to promote wellness in my city.
we are going to need support from our community too. moral support, volunteers to help with many aspects of running things (the funding is not that extraordinary), and we need people to participate in the program. there are aspects to getting clean and staying clean that run well past the actual treatment time. aftercare and how a person engages in life when they are no longer using is just as important as the treatment process. and not everyone is appropriate for a 12step process. besides, people need jobs, need education, need community, need recreation, need dreams, need possibilities. and our clinic is not going to be able to provide all those things on our own. but i believe that our city, our gay city, has ample resources, ideas, inspiration, and the where-with-all to make miracles happen.
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