National HIV Testing Day

I am alarmed at the number of people who are not concerned with the HIV/AIDS epidemic that continues to this day. With the amazing medical advances that have been made and the wonderful new treatments available, people seem to forget that AIDS remains a deadly problem, and not just for the GLBT community. I have had people tell me that they don't believe they can get AIDS and I've had others tell me that they're trying to get AIDS because it's an inevitability.

As someone who works with GLBT youth, I am especially concerned about this crisis. According to the Office of National AIDS Policy half of all new HIV infections occur in people under age 25 and one-fourth in people under the age of 21. One of the best prevention and treatment methods that exists is actually knowing if you are infected. Yet according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) about 1 in 4 of the nearly 1 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the USA don't even know they have it.

That is why today I invite you to join me in participating in National HIV Testing Day.



National HIV Testing Day (NHTD) was created by National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA). Here is a description of NHTD from their web site:

The National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA) proudly hosts National HIV Testing Day (NHTD) every year on June 27th. This annual campaign reaches out to people in all 50 states and Puerto Rico to encourage early diagnosis and routine testing for HIV/AIDS. During Testing Day, NAPWA works with about 30,000 partners, including community groups, businesses, health departments, and media to promote HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention. NAPWA distributes Testing Day materials along with its partners and holds community outreach events throughout the day to spread the word about HIV counseling and testing. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), between 180,000 and 280,000 people in the United States are HIV-positive and unaware of their status. NHTD stresses the importance of getting tested and taking control of your health.

I have already made arrangements to get my HIV test taken and I encourage you to do the same. I've had the good old fashioned blood test, the rapid HIV test and the popular oral test. Because I'm a big believer in getting tested regularly I've done it at county health clinics, HIV resource centers, GLBT community centers, university health offices and my own doctor's office. I don't consider myself to be any more at risk than anyone else and I'm not ashamed of the fact that I regularly and routinely get tested. I know that some people fear the stigma that they believe exists with being tested, but I can assure you that the consequences of the alternative are far worse.

Click here to find an HIV testing site, most of which are free and anonymous, near you.

Of course the best form of prevention is to practice safe sex and if you are the victim of a failed sex education program and have no idea what I'm talking about when I say safe sex, please check out this web site created by MTV about sexual health. However, please don't let safe sex practices stop you from getting tested.

Be safe - Use protection - Get tested

PS. Yes I'm aware that there are several other STDs/STIs that we should also be concerned with, but it's not National HPV Testing Day is it?

A GLBT Camp on every corner...

During a recent interview that I was doing with a member of the press about Camping.OUT - Triangle's GLBT youth summer camp - I got to talking with them about how I would ultimately like to see a dramatic increase in the number of youth camps made available to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth.

I was reminded of this again this past Saturday when I was a part of a panel that followed the Michigan Premiere of Camp Out - a film about The Naming Project's GLBT Christian summer camp. On the panel with me was The Rev. Jay Wiesner, one of the creators of the camp featured in Camp Out. Jay and I have corresponded over email before and it was nice to be able to put a face to the name and emails. Plus, he's a great guy and I always enjoy a good conversation with such a person. They have a great program and I suggest checking it out if you are looking for a GLBT alternative to a Christian summer camp.

Over conversations with Jay and while watching Camp Out, aside from wishing I could teleport to camp, I was reminded of how powerful an experience camp is for people (not just youth). That is why Triangle Foundation is working with several other GLBT youth-serving professionals to one day create some materials on how other GLBT camps can be created across the country. There are thousands of youth camps in the USA - more than any other country on the planet. It should stand to reason that with thousands of youth camps there should be more than about a dozen GLBT camps.

Hopefully one day the dreams of many GLBT camp directors will be realized and there will be a dozen GLBT camps in every state instead of just a dozen GLBT camps in the country. Until then, I wanted to take a quick opportunity to mention some of the GLBT camps that currently exist and as such are helping us reach this goal...

• Camping.OUT (GLBT youth and allies as well as children of GLBT families)
• The Naming Project Summer Camp (GLBT youth)
• Mountain Meadow (children of GLBT families)
• YES Summer Camp (GLBT youth)
• Camp Lavender Hill (children of GLBT families)
• CampOUT (GLBT youth and children of GLBT families)
• Camp Ten Oaks (GLBT youth and allies as well as children of GLBT families)
• Camp Rowan (GLBT youth)
• Camp Ten Trees (GLBT youth and allies as well as children of GLBT families)
• Spectrum Family Camp (GLBT families)
• Rainbow Family Camps (GLBT families)
• 'Camp' Camp (GLBT adults)

Keep an eye on the Camping.OUT and Triangle Foundation web sites for information on how we are working together to develop more camp opportunities for the GLBT community.

PS. Special thanks to Anthony, a Camping.OUT 2006 participant, and Ari, a...well 2006 high school graduate (it's what the sign said...honest), who were also on the panel, did a great job and were a lot of fun to hang out with.

Paris Hilton...really?

Alright, I know this is a bit of an unusual first "official blog entry" for a blog talking about GLBT youth issues, but I just have to get this off my chest.... What is the deal with all of the coverage Paris Hilton is getting?

No offense to the Hilton family or to fans of Paris, or even to fans of entertainment news...but do we really need to devote this much media coverage to a celebrity's brief stay in prison?

If she had cured cancer and in doing so accidentally ran over a puppy and was then arrested and sent to prison amongst public outcry, then I could maybe see this coverage being justified. Imagine it, the controversy of "she killed a puppy" "yes, but she cured cancer while doing it" - that could be newsworthy. The cure would be worth the media attention alone. But Paris didn't cure cancer, in fact, I'm having a hard time coming up with anything she has done except star in a...let's face it...pretty bad TV show.

This would sting a little less if it was a slow news cycle. However, does anyone really believe that the press has a lack of stories to cover? I was depressed with the number of stories they weren't covering before and the lack of investigative journalism that exists right now. This latest example of the deteriorating quality of the mainstream press should be of serious concern.

The next time you're watching one of the 24 hour news channels, or even your local news station (how they can even justify showing this is way beyond me), and the latest Paris Watch Update comes on consider sending them an email with a list of news stories you'd prefer them to cover. If nothing else, you can say that you're doing it as a favor to me because I've been pushed to the point where I've just stopped watching them altogether...

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go cleanse myself of the dirty feeling I get just talking about this whole "news" story.

Welcome to Bloggin.OUT!

Welcome to Bloggin.OUT - the official blog of Triangle Foundation's Generation.OUT program!

This will be a space for Triangle Foundation to post updates about our Generation.OUT program, including Campus.OUT, Schools.OUT, Camping.OUT, Generation.OUT Online and the rest of Triangle's youth initiatives. This blog will also be the home of the musings of Greg Varnum, Triangle Foundation's Director of Youth Initiatives & Information Technology.

Who knows, you may also sees posts by special guests such as members of Triangle Foundation's Youth Committee and other GLBT youth affiliated with Triangle Foundation!

So sit back and enjoy this new experiment by Triangle Foundation into the fabulous world wide web.