Readers Sound Off

Getting Connected I want to tell you I think you have a great magazine. I read it for the first time a few'weeks ago when I was at'my doctor's office. I am also living'with'HIV and feel alone most of the time'just like the people in your article who decided to join Strength in Numbers ['SIN Is In,' April].'Reading your'magazine helped me to feel more connected with other people who are HIV-positive. Keep up the good work. Name Withheld Via e-mail Big City Blues Thank you for the article 'SIN Is In.' It is amazing how in a city as big as Chicago there is such a feeling of isolation. It has been at least four years since my last attempt with love, and it left me with a very dazed feeling on how to relate to others without disclosing too much and then being judged by it. More shocking for me was that my home city does not have a chapter of Strength in Numbers. But I'm hopeful this will happen soon. Tom Orozco Chicago Inspired to Lead A group of us tried something similar to Strength in Numbers in Buffalo for HIV-positive men. It was an effort with some success, but it was limited since we attempted to create our network through the professional network of AIDS provider organizations. Confidentiality issues abounded. There were not many gatherings. Our spirit was strong, but we lacked an independent structure. Since reading the article 'SIN Is In' I have been reinspired about the possibilities. Ronald S. Wojciechowski Akron, N.Y. Empower All Thank you for the article on Strength in Numbers. It helps educate and empower society as a whole from coast to coast. However, it is very important to inform the HIV-negative population of a vital fact'serosorting can be applied to them as well. When HIV-negative people have safe sex with other HIV-negative people, no HIV-negative person gets infected with HIV. It is a physical impossibility. Therefore, it is equally important that HIV-negative people practice serosorting as well. Serosorting is free. Serosorting does not discriminate against race, age, gender, income, or political or geographical boundaries. We can stop HIV, but only if we want to. The end of HIV is close. How close? As close as your next sex partner. Robert Brandon Sandor www.poz4poz.com Looking for Leads My daughter is a Peace Corps volunteer in Namibia in southern Africa. Part of her job is HIV education and prevention. She has heard about the trading cards you featured and has asked me to get some for her ['Trading Faces,' February]. I have looked at your Web site, but I cannot seem to find the correct information for ordering these cards. Please let me know how I can buy a deck. Jackie Abrams Brattleboro, Vt. [The editors reply: The trading cards you mentioned were produced by the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, which can be reached at (414) 273-1991 or (800) 359-9272. Ask for the Bag Boyz program. Just one note: The cards are specifically designed with prevention messages for gay men and cover a variety of issues other than HIV, including other STDs and drug use.] We welcome your letters to the editor. Mail them to Letters to the Editor, HIV Plus, 6922 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 1000, Los Angeles, CA 90028-6148; fax them to (323) 467-6805; or e-mail them to letters@hivplusmag.com.