San Francisco
agency launches new HIV programs

San Francisco's Stop AIDS Project is using part of a $1.5 million grant from the city's Department of Public Health to launch new HIV prevention and support programs for HIV-positive gay men in the city, reports the Bay Area Reporter. "For us, these programs are about reducing the stigma of being HIV-positive and to help in HIV prevention," Michael Cooley, SAP's Positive Force program director, told the Reporter.

The programs include a variety of special events, workshops, and support groups, including five weekend-long seminars called "Positive Living for Us" that will be held during the coming year. The first seminar, set for September 17-18, will focus on general health, nutrition, HIV treatment, alternative therapies, disclosure issues, harm reduction strategies, and coping strategies.

The agency also will launch a small support group for recently infected men that will meet on Tuesday evenings, and will distribute an informational brochure titled "I Just Found Out I Have HIV, Now What?" to city health care centers that refer HIV-positive gay men to support services in the area.