| In December
of last year, while we were putting together the finishing touches
on the HIV Drug Guide (Jan/Feb 2001), my partner’s fifteen-year-old
nephew committed suicide. On the surface, Ryan appeared to be
a happy, energetic young man, with a bright future. He was active
in his school, community and church. The mystery surrounding
Ryan’s suicide — Why?—left the family devastated.
Particularly crushed by this tragedy was my partner, who struggled
with very personal issues of being gay, obese, bulimic and suicidal
when he was a teen.
This has been a difficult
issue of Positively Aware for me to focus on, because
every day those haunting questions resurface. What was Ryan
going through? Why didn’t anyone notice? How could this
have been prevented? Prevention.
Young people, youth, street
kids, and teenagers —whatever you want to label them—are
an endangered species. Yes, we’ve all been there and
done that. For many of us those years were a breeze, an experience
we still look back on with fond memories. For some those years
were filled with mental and physical violence. And far too
many were forced to suffer in silence and invisibility.
Be they gay, straight, transgender,
queer, bisexual or somewhere in between, black, white, brown,
red or yellow…young people (under the age of 25) are
quickly becoming the silent majority of new cases of HIV.
What are these kids going through? Why didn’t anyone
take notice earlier? How can we prevent AIDS from devastating
yet another generation?
This issue of Positively
Aware examines HIV/AIDS prevention and education from
the perspective of youth on the front lines. First-time contributor
Chris Bell speaks of his experience of being an “out”
HIV positive AIDS educator on a college campus. Laura “Radical
Red” Jones talks with a former drug injector about staying
safe because of needle exchange programs. And I take a look
at what is, and is not happening in prevention, and the growing
number of HIV positive youth living on the streets. These
three brief articles scratch at the scab of a deep, ugly wound.
The bottom line is that more, much more, needs to be done,
and could be done to prevent a second wave of HIV. What’s
in the way?
Every day that passes without
such an effort is a missed opportunity. Ryan’s death
is a vivid reminder that youth, even those who on the surface
appear to be at peace with their surroundings, may be troubled
at their core. Ryan’s memorial service was packed with
friends his own age. It’s scary to think that a person
so loved could be so unhappy. It also demonstrates that no
matter how supportive and protective we are as parents, as
brothers and sisters, as aunts and uncles, and as peers, each
child has a mind and will of their own.
This issue has caused me
to reexamine my days of youth. As a proud “child of disco”
I can look back on those days and truly give thanks that I
was mature enough to enjoy the experience and lucky enough
to still be here to reflect upon it. I am also thankful that
my partner made it through his troubled teen and early adult
years. For some unknown reason Ryan could not. We all miss
him dearly.
Charles E. Clifton
Editor
|
