So I was in a bit of a quandary: A few months ago I wrote about a photographer, Wayne Martin Belger, whose work really moved me. In the course of my writing about him, we became pals since we are both LA natives, punk rock changed our lives, and we both practice “Afro-Caribbean Orthodox Christianity,” more commonly known as African Diasporic religions: Santeria, Voudon/Voodoo, Hoodoo, Espiritismo.

When Belger said he wanted to come to LA and shoot for his series on HIV+ people, I offered to help find models. I also volunteered to organize four other shoots for him of rabbis, priests and imams with another camera. (I’d told him, “I’ll do anything to help you, except book your girlfriend’s travel–that’s up to you!” and so I wrote and sent out press releases, confirmed models, set up craft service at the shoot, etc.) It kind of put me in a weird place, because I felt that since I was working with him I couldn’t really write about him. But then I saw this video from Sunday’s shoot with HIV positive models, and nearly cried. And I wanted to share it with you.

As a model wrangler, I’d contacted a dear friend who works with the Los Angeles County HIV Drug and Alcohol Task Force and Transgender Outreach. She’d put the word out and some really wonderful people contacted us and agreed to pose, including vivacious and charming 73 year-old Thelma James who is on the LA County Commission for HIV and her friend, the very lovely Sandrine Lewis, whose son Will came along, gamely humping gear upstairs and helping Belger to load film. Thelma arranged for super-fox David L. Kelly, who had modeled on an AIDS Healthcare Foundation billboard, to pose for Belger. The goal was to show that HIV/AIDS isn’t a Cute Guy disease. In fact the Los Angeles County Commission on HIV/AIDS states:

Communities of color and women–constituting more than half of the LA County population–continue to be the special populations most disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS. Currently, AIDS is the leading cause of death among African American men and the second leading cause of death among African American women between the ages of 25 and 44. In Los Angeles County, for the first time this past year, numerically, Latinos/as with HIV/AIDS now outnumber every other population locally.

I also called on friends of mine who were out about their HIV status, and they all said yes: We had a physical trainer/activist, an artist/activist, a writer/editor/activist, a scholar/activist, and an actor/activist. (Do you see a theme here?)

And then I screwed up my courage and asked Harriet, a profoundly beautiful friend of mine, if she would like to participate. She said yes, and that her daughter Isabella who is also HIV+ wanted to do the shoot, too. Isabella, who set a goal for herself to shoot 90 videos in 90 days, made this mini-documentary/montage of her experience.

The shoot was amazingly moving, so many emotions. Sam Page, the physical trainer who I’d met during the El Coyote/Prop 8 community meeting, began to cry. He wrote later:

I had to stand still for about two minutes for each shot (he took four) because of the exposure time of the lens. While standing there, I stared into the wood floor — and somehow, made out the reflection of my mom’s face looking back at me. Tears began to stream as I thought about all of those who have died—and how important these images will be in telling our stories about the stigma that still exists between the HIV negative and the HIV positive gays. It was truly one of the most moving experiences of my life, when time literally stood still, and I cried, seemingly on cue.

The strength and beauty and love of life each of these models expressed during their time with us was beyond inspirational, as was their commitment to spreading the word that HIV can happen to anyone no matter what their age, race, socio-economic class, education, sexual orientation or any other demographic.

Todd A. Heywood is an openly HIV+  journalist based in Lansing, MI who has covered many issues revolving around HIV — from criminalization to disclosure to epidemiology and new discoveries in medicine and science.

Now he is writing a play about the effect of HIV on relationships and what it means to be HIV+ in America during the past decade, and he’s asking for real life stories from gay and straight men and women of all ages.

Here’s the project in Todd’s own words.

In addition to my love of investigative informative reporting, I have a deep seated love of theater. I have directed over 100 plays, written several pieces that have been produced in Michigan and other states, and I have won several awards for my acting. I recently met with the artistic director of a local professional theater company in Lansing and during our discussion, the idea of a play exploring the impact of HIV on relationships would be a fantastic piece of theater which would help people to understand what living with HIV in America in 2000′s is about.

As such, I am now soliciting stories from those living with HIV as well as those who have been touched by HIV.

• Are you in a magnetic relationship?
• How did you meet?
• How did you disclose?
• What were the reactions?
• How does one partner being negative impact your relationship?
• What do your friends and family think?
• Have you faced criminal charges because of your HIV status? Why? When did it happen? What were the circumstances? What was the outcome?

These and other issues are important. Help me tell our stories! You can send your story to TellingHIVStories@gmail.com. You can do this with audio, video, or simply write your story out. Your name and identity will be protected and I will be the only one with access to your email address. Please make sure to put in your email a way for me to send follow up questions to you!

photo: Bill Ohi, used through creative commons

* Sarah Palin unwittingly helped Planned Parenthood raise over $1 million during the presidential campaign when the e-mails asking for donations in her name spread virally in September and October. The e-mail directed people to Planned Parenthood’s Web site to donate in Palin’s name, and money went to the Planned Parenthood branch located in the same ZIP code as the giver.  Donors could then have that branch of Planned Parenthood send Palin a card announcing the gift.

When asked about the fund-raising campaign yesterday, Alaska’s Frost Lady responded:

I have boxes of thank-you notes from people associated with Planned Parenthood thanking me for the donations. Same with some anti-hunting groups, they’re doing the same thing right now. It’s political theater–it’s great theater I guess for some.

Planned Parenthood Alaska–which received $5000 in donations during the email push– said they would earmark the money to help women access birth control, and that the funds would not be used to fund abortions. Palin is vehemently opposed to abortion as well as Plan B (the morning-after pill), but told Katie Couric she was:

all for contraception..all for preventative measures that are legal and safe.

Planned Parenthood provides sex and STD education,  STD care, women’s gynecological health care, and birth control along with abortion counseling and services. In response to yesterday’s query about Planned Parenthood  Palin said:

But on the issue of Planned Parenthood and abortion, at least Planned Parenthood, officials there and, I, we agree on a mission here that we’d like to see fewer and fewer abortions. And I, embracing the culture of life, have perhaps a different approach in how I would like to see that goal reached.

Here’s a pro tip for Gov GILF: Abstinence doesn’t work.

*  To help parents meet their children’s educational needs, the supergroup Fleetwood Mac is auctioning off VIP tickets and meet-and-greets with Mick Fleetwood as a fundraiser. The auction benefits Hilltop Nursery School in Silver Lake, California, a parent-participation, cooperative pre-school founded over 50 years ago. Pairs of tickets for each show on the band’s Unleashed tour–plus face time with Fleetwood–are up for auction on eBay now and the charity auctions will continue throughout the tour.

*  Justin Timberlake joined Bill Murray, Ray Romano, Kevin James, and Michael Bolton on the golf course at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, helping to raise over $6 million dollars for a number of charities including schools, arts programs, services for the blind and senior and food banks.

*  In an essay in Elle magazine, Bono discusses a trip to Africa he took six years ago and the changes he has seen since there has been an increase in awareness and funding in HIV/AIDS care on the continent:

Our science and technology, it turned out, were more advanced than our conscience. We in the West had the means to save lives, but we lacked the resolve.

What can we do? Well, the short answer is: a lot. At the time of that trip, only 50,000 Africans had access to ARVs [anti-retrovial drugs]. That figure today is 2.1 million. That’s because a lot of people have been doing a lot of things, in Africa and all over the world. In the face of the AIDS emergency, we’ve got to gang up on the problem.

Bono points out the effect of conscious consumerism, specifically the (RED) brands–everyday consumer goods from coffee and wine to clothing and electronics–that benefit the Global Fund to Fight AIDS. Since its inception (RED) has raised $120 million for prevention and counseling programs as well as treatment, and is now the thirteenth biggest contributor to the Global Fund, giving more than some countries. Explains Bono:

The companies involved don’t mark up their products to get you to pay a premium. They take a piece of the profits from every (RED) thing you buy, and they use it to buy lifesaving medication for those who can’t afford it. 

Charities and non-profits are feeling the economic chill, and sadly–between the markets, Madoff and budget cuts–it looks like it’s going to get colder. Celebrities help draw attention and money (maybe giving some of their own cash in the process) to causes, hopefully helping to maintain or increase donations as the need for services is on the rise.