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Gay Men Who Use Crystal Meth are Five Times More Likely to Test HIV-Positive
- By News Hound
- Published 04/11/2007
- HIV & AIDS News
- Unrated
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View all articles by News HoundGay Men Who Use Crystal Meth are Five Times More Likely to Test HIV-Positive
LOS ANGELES, April 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Michael (last name
withheld to protect confidentiality), a 22-year-old homeless client of the
L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center's Jeff Griffith Youth Center and newly addicted
to crystal methamphetamine, is one of a growing number of gay men in Los
Angeles who are experimenting with the drug, according to disturbing new
preliminary data from the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center.
Of 5,319 gay men tested for HIV or other STDs at the Center in 2005,
18% reported they had used crystal meth at least once and 9% had used the
drug in the previous 12 months. In 2006 the percentage of gay men who
reported using crystal meth at least once had increased to 25% and the
percentage of those who had used it in the last year had increased to 13%
(of 6,360 people tested). Even more alarming: The 2006 preliminary data
indicates that gay men who used meth within the previous 12 months were
five times more likely to test positive for HIV than those who did not.
Youth Center client Michael, kicked out of his Sacramento home for
being gay and now living on the streets of Los Angeles, has battled for
months to kick what became a nearly instantaneous addiction. He isn't yet
HIV-positive and by expanding its crystal meth recovery services the Center
hopes to help him, and those like him, beat their addiction before it's too
late.
"I thought, 'I'm living on the streets. There's nothing better to do.
Let me just try it,'" Michael says of using meth. "So I ended up trying it,
and I ended up getting hooked on it. I started going crazy, like I wanted
it all the time."
A new meth recovery support group launched by the L.A. Gay & Lesbian
Center specifically for young people -- along with a second meth group
designed for adult gay men -- aims to help meth users like Michael find a
support system among their peers and take their first steps toward
recovery.
"One of the keys to successfully helping both youths and adults who are
abusing meth is to have services available to them early in their use or
addiction," says Mike Rizzo, Manager of the Center's Crystal Meth Recovery
Services. "Many users will at some point begin to question if they have a
problem with the drug, and having services ready for them at that moment is
vital in helping them move from contemplation to action."
Rizzo should know. Recently recruited to the Center, he's a gay
recovering meth addict himself and now an expert in meth treatment and
prevention. Before joining the Center, Rizzo worked for three and a half
years as director of the residential/outpatient program at Alternatives, a
Silver Lake-based rehabilitation and treatment facility for members of the
GLBT community struggling with drug or alcohol addiction. He also has
worked as an intern and counselor at Our House, which assists HIV-positive
individuals recovering from substance abuse.
In addition to his work with the Center's meth support groups, Rizzo
works one-on-one with clients to refer them to other Center services-like
individual counseling, the Jeffrey Goodman Special Care Clinic for HIV
medical care, HIV/STD testing and treatment, and others -- as well as to
outside treatment facilities if necessary.
Fighting meth use in the GLBT community requires a multi-pronged
approach, says Rizzo, because the reasons people use the drug vary greatly
between demographic groups.
For gay and bisexual men, meth can temporarily alleviate some of the
issues gay men may struggle with, such as internalized homophobia, low
self-esteem, lack of acceptance by society and low coping skills, explains
Rizzo. And because it also lowers inhibitions and enhances sexual pleasure,
experimental use often evolves into long-term addiction -- and into
repeating patterns of risky sex.
Homeless youth, however, tend to use meth for very different reasons,
most directly linked to the fact that they are living on the streets, says
Ismael Morales, a health educator at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center's Jeff
Griffith Youth Center for homeless and at-risk GLBT youth ages 15-24.
"On the streets of Los Angeles there are about 5,000 - 6,000 homeless
GLBT youth and for them, the drug is not recreational at all -- it's about
survival," Morales says. "They use it to stay awake at night for safety.
They use crystal to separate themselves from the reality of living on the
streets. And they end up addicted to it."
For more information about the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center's crystal meth
programs, go on-line to http://www.lagaycenter.org/drugalcoholcounseling.
For an in-depth Q&A with Mike Rizzo about his experiences with meth and
his work at the Center, go on-line to
http://www.lagaycenter.org/crystalmethqa.
About the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center
The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center provides a broad array of services for
the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community, welcoming nearly a
quarter-million client visits from ethnically diverse youth and adults each
year. Through its Jeffrey Goodman Special Care Clinic and on-site pharmacy,
the Center offers free and low-cost health, mental health, HIV/AIDS medical
care and HIV/STD testing and prevention. The Center also offers legal,
social, cultural, and educational services, with unique programs for
seniors, families and youth, including a 24-bed transitional living program
for homeless youth. Information about the Gay & Lesbian Center is available
on the Web at http://www.lagaycenter.org.
withheld to protect confidentiality), a 22-year-old homeless client of the
L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center's Jeff Griffith Youth Center and newly addicted
to crystal methamphetamine, is one of a growing number of gay men in Los
Angeles who are experimenting with the drug, according to disturbing new
preliminary data from the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center.
Of 5,319 gay men tested for HIV or other STDs at the Center in 2005,
18% reported they had used crystal meth at least once and 9% had used the
drug in the previous 12 months. In 2006 the percentage of gay men who
reported using crystal meth at least once had increased to 25% and the
percentage of those who had used it in the last year had increased to 13%
(of 6,360 people tested). Even more alarming: The 2006 preliminary data
indicates that gay men who used meth within the previous 12 months were
five times more likely to test positive for HIV than those who did not.
Youth Center client Michael, kicked out of his Sacramento home for
being gay and now living on the streets of Los Angeles, has battled for
months to kick what became a nearly instantaneous addiction. He isn't yet
HIV-positive and by expanding its crystal meth recovery services the Center
hopes to help him, and those like him, beat their addiction before it's too
late.
"I thought, 'I'm living on the streets. There's nothing better to do.
Let me just try it,'" Michael says of using meth. "So I ended up trying it,
and I ended up getting hooked on it. I started going crazy, like I wanted
it all the time."
A new meth recovery support group launched by the L.A. Gay & Lesbian
Center specifically for young people -- along with a second meth group
designed for adult gay men -- aims to help meth users like Michael find a
support system among their peers and take their first steps toward
recovery.
"One of the keys to successfully helping both youths and adults who are
abusing meth is to have services available to them early in their use or
addiction," says Mike Rizzo, Manager of the Center's Crystal Meth Recovery
Services. "Many users will at some point begin to question if they have a
problem with the drug, and having services ready for them at that moment is
vital in helping them move from contemplation to action."
Rizzo should know. Recently recruited to the Center, he's a gay
recovering meth addict himself and now an expert in meth treatment and
prevention. Before joining the Center, Rizzo worked for three and a half
years as director of the residential/outpatient program at Alternatives, a
Silver Lake-based rehabilitation and treatment facility for members of the
GLBT community struggling with drug or alcohol addiction. He also has
worked as an intern and counselor at Our House, which assists HIV-positive
individuals recovering from substance abuse.
In addition to his work with the Center's meth support groups, Rizzo
works one-on-one with clients to refer them to other Center services-like
individual counseling, the Jeffrey Goodman Special Care Clinic for HIV
medical care, HIV/STD testing and treatment, and others -- as well as to
outside treatment facilities if necessary.
Fighting meth use in the GLBT community requires a multi-pronged
approach, says Rizzo, because the reasons people use the drug vary greatly
between demographic groups.
For gay and bisexual men, meth can temporarily alleviate some of the
issues gay men may struggle with, such as internalized homophobia, low
self-esteem, lack of acceptance by society and low coping skills, explains
Rizzo. And because it also lowers inhibitions and enhances sexual pleasure,
experimental use often evolves into long-term addiction -- and into
repeating patterns of risky sex.
Homeless youth, however, tend to use meth for very different reasons,
most directly linked to the fact that they are living on the streets, says
Ismael Morales, a health educator at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center's Jeff
Griffith Youth Center for homeless and at-risk GLBT youth ages 15-24.
"On the streets of Los Angeles there are about 5,000 - 6,000 homeless
GLBT youth and for them, the drug is not recreational at all -- it's about
survival," Morales says. "They use it to stay awake at night for safety.
They use crystal to separate themselves from the reality of living on the
streets. And they end up addicted to it."
For more information about the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center's crystal meth
programs, go on-line to http://www.lagaycenter.org/drugalcoholcounseling.
For an in-depth Q&A with Mike Rizzo about his experiences with meth and
his work at the Center, go on-line to
http://www.lagaycenter.org/crystalmethqa.
About the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center
The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center provides a broad array of services for
the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community, welcoming nearly a
quarter-million client visits from ethnically diverse youth and adults each
year. Through its Jeffrey Goodman Special Care Clinic and on-site pharmacy,
the Center offers free and low-cost health, mental health, HIV/AIDS medical
care and HIV/STD testing and prevention. The Center also offers legal,
social, cultural, and educational services, with unique programs for
seniors, families and youth, including a 24-bed transitional living program
for homeless youth. Information about the Gay & Lesbian Center is available
on the Web at http://www.lagaycenter.org.
