Prevention

With no cure and no vaccine for AIDS currently available, the only way we can stop HIV is to prevent its spread. Every community has its own unique prevention needs--in San Francisco we work with populations at greatest risk for infection by focusing on individuals' overall life and health. The San Francisco AIDS Foundation operates four programs for gay and bisexual men and also runs one of the nation's largest needle exchange programs.

The Black Brothers Esteem program promotes the sexual health and well-being of African-American gay, bisexual and same-gender loving men through a weekly drop-in group, workshops, leadership-building retreats, and other community-building activities. BBE addresses not only issues of HIV, but also the challenges of poverty, substance use, homophobia and racism.

The Speed Project works with gay and bisexual men who use crystal methamphetamine to assist them in understanding the connections between their substance use and their sexual health and well-being through education, peer support, and alternative social activities. For more information on the project and related materials, go to www.tspsf.com.

The San Francisco AIDS Foundation HIV Prevention Project (HPP) has provided street-based needle and syringe exchange services to injection drug users throughout San Francisco since 1988 and is one of the nation's largest needle exchange programs. This life-saving program provides more than two million sterile needles a year to approximately 5,000 individuals in San Francisco and has been credited with significantly reducing new HIV infections among injection drug users, their sexual partners, and their children.

The Stonewall Project is a harm reduction counseling and treatment program for men who have sex with men (queer, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, or no label) who have questions about speed, want information about speed and want help dealing with speed.

Tweaker.org provides information so that gay men understand crystal meth and how it affects physical, mental, sexual and social health. The web site supports guys who want to talk about what they know, what they need and how to get answers about their meth use. It also provides resources to help guys when they decide they want help with their meth use.

Magnet, developed by community leaders and activists, provides sexually transmitted infection services -- including HIV testing and screening -- to the Castro, the neighborhood which continues to have the greatest concentration of new HIV infections in San Francisco, along with a space for gay men to socialize.