By John Sanchez
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Barrett first became active in the fight against AIDS after the 1984 death of his friend and onetime companion Bradley Scott Reimer. “I kind of quit the rat race and didn’t know what to do with myself,” he recalls, “and so I decided to dedicate a year or two of my life in AIDS prevention, thinking that by a year or two it would be under control.” Before the Reimer Foundation was formed, Barrett volunteered with the now-defunct Strike Against AIDS, a group that raised funds through bowling tournaments, and he served as the volunteer coordinator for the Howard Brown Memorial Clinic. As new organizations emerged addressing various aspects of the crisis, prevention remained the paramount issue to Barrett. “Housing and feeding and research and counseling are great, but we wouldn’t need to focus our money and energy and everything on that if we had prevention to begin with.”
Gay-identified organizations have historically led the way in HIV prevention efforts, and Barrett worries their successes may have created a false impression that they’ve found a way to manage the crisis. “I think the feeling is that because the gay community is doing so well–and the statistics show [its rate of new infections is] way below what was expected–then ‘Hey, no problem. We’ll focus on new areas.’”
While Barrett and the foundation’s other board members try to get the city to reconsider the new policy, they’re also seeking other sources of support. State health officials have indicated they may have surplus funds available later this year, and it’s possible some would be given to the city and then passed along to the foundation. Reimer has always sought private donations from the gay community, but recent fund-raising efforts have not been encouraging. “We have donation cans in the bars, but we barely get $100 a month out of those,” Barrett says. A booth at International Mr. Leather over Memorial Day weekend grossed only $7. A series of tag nights, where donations are solicited as patrons enter bars, will be held in June.
