European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 4, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                I s Castro District Are always in mourning y  in h was not uncommon Lor some men to have sexual contacts with 20 or 30 partners in a single evening Al s in of Bath houses that featured orgy rooms and other facilities designed to encourage multiple sexual i he contacts these Days All mate crowds still congregate at the " Phoenix the twin peaks. Inc elephant walk and other bars that have Long been fixtures in the neighbourhood ise Young Mae hustlers still cruise Castro struck. Offering Wilh a Quick glance the Promise of sex Lor a Price not i. Of everyone practices Sale so regulars in the Castro 1 concede a. The but because of aids the neighbourhood is vastly different irom what it was even three years ago f spal All the Bath houses which health officials ale As Aon fundamental cause of lha initial rapid spread of aids Ura and Many of the other businesses thai catered to the Gay Community have closed because their proprietors have died or Are dying of aids or they have lost too Many customers to the disease. There s been a sort of maturation said Ernest l d Aston whose family has run calf s variety store a age Castro Street landmark site 1936 and who has Ime witnessed All the changes of the last Tew years. In the 70s and Early 80s," he said people came Here to come out of the closet there was a perpetual coming out by people irom All Over the country from Gay All Over the world for that matter. They might be in their Foj. 40 9, but when they cams Here there was still x adolescent  the since then he said it has become easier Lor to homosexuals around the country to pursue openly their1as sexual preferences on their Home ground. You Don t Sonca 1981,3,403 aids Eatty Haw in la Gouhl in san flute Rico inn a memorial mfg for oif do a. Have to make a pilgrimage Hera. And lha very Carefree promiscuity you used to have has been considerably dampened by aids hot Laid. And i think there s More sense of responsibility in the Community when it comes to taking care of the people who fall victim to this disease he and others pointed out that Community groups had been formed to provide services to aids sufferers among other things bringing food and lending Solace in visits to the afflicted at their Homes or in the Hospital. It s so hard said Berube. 9 writer. So much of our lives Are dedicated to dealing Wilh death taking care of our friends who Are dying. N seek tests Joseph said hat 37 percent were homosexual or ,. Bisexual men and that sexual partners of the members of the other major risk group intravenous drug users ,1 accounted for21 percent. Health officials said or intravenous drug users themselves accounted for a 15 Lar of percentage Ollie others Las Ted. Dual Joseph said intravenous drug users represent 36 percent of the City s total of More than 11,000 aids a cases a percentage that has doubled since aids was first reported in 19b1.morelhanhalfof thecly s estimated 200,000 drug Addic i s Are believed lobe v infected with the aids  said thai the rate of pos i live lest result s signifying infection Wilh the his virus that causes aids by was 12.5 percent Al the City s Chelsea test Sita. A said he the percentage was Down from 17 percent in March. At the other test site in the health department s Bureau of laboratories the Rale of positive test results a among 400 people tested in april was 69 percent a which Joseph said was Low. Stale health officials said that the positive results Al All ils test Sites in the City which had been in the High teens earlier this year had dropped task month a positive lest Means a person has been exposed to the aids virus but does no mean the individual will definitely contract the disease. The people being tested Are identified Only by their  the most pan. The stale Tes 1 Sites have concentrated on screening intravenous drug users in poor neighbourhoods in Harlem the Bron Brooklyn and Queens who account for most Ollie new aids cases in the cily. Faith Schottenfeld a spokeswoman for the state health department said test officials attributed the drop in positive tests to an increase in the number of people who Are Al Low risk seeking to be tested. For those people the test results at the second site were regarded As extremely encouraging. Rosenthal said none of the 160 women who were tested in april at that site were shown to have been infected women who had no apparent risk of contracting aids began seeking to be tested Lale last year after or. C. Everett Koop. The surgeon general of  urged woman who were considering having children to be tested Lor aids infection. Rosenthal said. She said thai the women were interviewed by Counselor and that most of them said they were considering entering a new relationship or marriage. She said they represented what she described As a Cross Section of Manhattan women professionals working class and affluent they were concerned about the unknown she said they were women who typically might have had several relationships or sexual partners Over recent years or Briel Lings or  aids is almost exclusively Iran smiled through intimate sexual Contact involving an Exchange of bodily fluids or through a contaminated Needle and syringe House 1 a we a a. Arc has can t a similar residences for people Wilh aids have been set up in new York and san Francisco cities with Large numbers of victims. The mansion s present use is kept secret Lor fear of antagonizing neighbors. We re afraid they d break our windows out Bill said. Sometimes you just Don t Leel Good you just ask a Friend who s Here to Cook for you we switch off like thai. A Lake turns. Thai s wonderful he said with the spread of aids and the growing leu of aids demand or such shelters is growing eleven aids a aliens live in Chicago House dwellings a third Home. For 1 6 More victims is to open m september Frol the persists despite experts Assurance Ihal aids can spread Only through Exchange of infected bodily fluids most often oui ing sex or Needle shared by drug abusers Chicago House has 70 disease free volunteers. Many of whom act As Counselor working one on one and offering emotional support As Well As help with laundry. Shopping or cooking said harms there is at times a real sense of helplessness said Volunteer Beck Hiatt 25. A student in social work Al the University of Illinois. As much As i would like to care and help fix there s nothing i can do except for those site things like let Ling them know i care most have to meet their maker in their own Way. The people who choose to live life Are what keep you going " harms added the most difficult Ihms is dealing Wilh death because of their age " most Ara in their late 20s or 30s, and harms who is 30, says she has seen six residents die since she began working Wilh Chicago House last August Bui the Homes Are not a hospice or an alte alive to . She said. They Rem a i dormitories Lor ads Clims who have the own rooms and share kit Chen and bathroom space rent varies depending on residents a dry to pay the residents May come and go As they please friends May stay Over but must be approved by Chicago House state no drugs or alcohol Are allowed m the Homes a nurse visits the sicker patients every Day. Bill said and All pal enl s have their own doctors " some basically perceive coming into Chicago House As a place to  harms said for some of them this is their last place. For us. It s a House for living not for dying our objective is providing a Nice Sale place to live " Hiatt says she decided to Volunteer when she realized Ihal a couple of my real Good friends could be diagnosed any time with aids. Many of Tho victims Are about her age. Which makes  thai kind of hits dose to Home i Ihrk ils compounded by the fact Ihal this is such a socially Unarce plod terminal  Hill said Bill says shores ideals try to look beyond Ihal Clotead As Normal lives As possible we All recognize that we have Tho  he said. Bul we Don t talk about in we re not afraid of each other we want Otcel Normal the stars and stripes Page 15