Get Off Your Butts, Volume 1, Number 6, October 1994 Page: 1 of 12
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Positive
Threads
Useful information for Surviving HIV/AIDS
October 1994 A Newsletter for People Living with HIV/AIDS Vol. One No. SixGET OFF YOUR BUTTS
During the last few months I've had many
good conversations with various people
around Austin and one of the most common
comments I've heard has been that "there
isn't enough information out there" and "it's
hard to find someone who knows much about
new things." One local television reporter
was attempting to put together a story about
different treatment options and had difficulty
in getting HIV infected persons to come for-
ward and talk. Several of my readers have
made comments about their frustrations in
trying to obtain information of what is avail-
able in financial and other assistance. And
then every so often someone will say that you
"don't see much in the local papers about
what's going on with HIV/AIDS."
Can We Talk?
Information is available from several
sources and most of it is free for the asking.
Well, kind of free. It only takes a few mo-
!ents to write a short note and a 29 cent post-
e stamp to get information sent to you on a
onthly basis. Treatment Issues comes out of
ew York and presents current information in
i easy to read style. Project Inform out of
ain Francisco has some excellent stuff they
ill send you and there are several excellent
wsletters such as Being Alive (L.A.),
esolute! (Denver), Body Positive (New
ork), PWAC Newsline (New York) and
ven a slick glossy magazine called POZ that
t every other month.
iese are only a few of the many publica-
- that are available and all contain excel-
ent information on almost everything; nutri-
ion, mental health, humor, personal experi-
ences, medical updates, personal and legal
advice. Positive Threads prints information
gathered from most of these sources and I try
to put bits of everything into these pages but I
would like to suggest that you arm yourself
with more information by at least writing to
one of these sources and getting on their
mailing list. There's a few listed in this issue
to get you started.by Jim Thurman
It's Time to Ruffle Some Feathers
A few months ago a friend of mine spent a
great deal of time caring for someone who
was in their final stages of dying and one of
the comments he made was "if you should get
to that point, I wouldn't know where to go for
help." I have heard this from many others
before. My friend suggested that I put together
something in writing and make it available for
people in the Austin area so one would know
what services are available.
After several discussions we came up with
the idea of putting together an easy to read
handbook that would list what's available and
what the eligibility requirements are for ob-
taining these services. Food, rent/mortgage
assistance, help with utilities, medical care,
clothing, child care, transportation, legal
planning and advice, counseling, pet care, and
house cleaning are some of the things that are
to be included in this handbook.
So, I put together a letter explaining that I
would be putting together this handbook for
clients/caregivers and would appreciate in-
formation concerning the above topics. I then
faxed this letter to every agency listed on the
Resources pages from the first two issues. A
week later I followed up with telephone calls
and many people assured me that I would get
the information that I requested. Although
most thought it was a great idea, there were a
couple of agency people who wanted to know
why, and another said there already was a
guide out there (which I received, it doesn't
say much and it's hard to read).
Six weeks after the first fax I was still
waiting and made some more calls and even
resubmitted another fax. Five weeks later and
I'm still waiting. I have received information
from two small organizations and one health
clinic. Now I realize that there is a lot going
on in some of these agencies but eleven weeks
is a long time. Send me your client handbooks
and I'll pull the information from that. I'll be
calling a third time to remind you that I need
your help in getting this guide out soon.The Media
I agree with those who say there isn't
enough information in the printed media to
cover new treatments, deal with HIV political
issues, and write about different things that
are affecting the HIV community.
If one were to glance at the Chronicle (my
favorite paper) you will find a small section in
the back among the classifieds that talks about
AIDS on a consistent basis. From time to time
TWT does a page or two on HIV/AIDS related
information, and Austin's own Triangle occa-
sionally has an article or two. By comparison
however, if you were to check out local papers
from New York, San Francisco, LA, and
Washington D.C. you would find that these
publications consistently have a column dedi-
cated to HIV/AIDS related topics. They keep
their readers well informed.
For the most part, national publications
report on HIV/AIDS news but unfortunately
most of us can't afford to subscribe to these
and have to rely on the free weeklies/bi-
weeklies that are available to us locally. I
know of two women who are HIV+ and read
the Triangle hoping that they can catch an
article that relates to women's problems. So
come on, --Triangle, Chronicle, TWT, and
get more information printed in your papers.
Certainly you can do a regular column for
your readers. Education and information is
important to everyone, and Austin's HIV
community shouldn't be excluded from your
coverage.
The Bars and Clubs
There was a time here in Austin when
nightclub owners allowed agencies to come
into their establishments to hand out literature
and condoms. As a matter of fact, you use to
see those plastic jars filled with condoms
sitting around different areas of the bars.
Nowadays it's rare to see the handouts and
you don't see too many jars of condoms. Some
of those neat "safe-sex" posters are no longer
in sight as well. One bar manager gave his
(COVER story continued on page 2)
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Get Off Your Butts, Volume 1, Number 6, October 1994, periodical, October 1994; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1457550/m1/1/: accessed July 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.