This article appeared in Spicy, the newsletter of the YouthCO AIDS Society, in May, 1996.
Remember Mary Lou? She's a nurse who used to work at the Bute
Street Clinic in the Gay and Lesbian Centre. Unfortunately she
faced mandatory retirement in August, but the good news is she
has been hired by the Vanguard Project to assist with the recruitment
and testing of study participants.
Mary Lou is currently available two afternoons a week at Vancouver's newest walk-in clinic, the Downtown South Community Health Centre. Anyone who would like to see her about participating in the project can drop by the clinic at 1065 Seymour St. (at Helmcken) on Wednesday and Friday afternoons. Appointments can be made with Mary Lou by calling her at 808-9868.
"It's great to be back," says Miller. "I'm really glad to be using my nursing skills again in serving the gay community."
Over 500 gay and bisexual men in the Vancouver area have already signed up for this study of HIV rates and risk factors, and another 500 participants are still needed. Organizers are now targeting their recruitment efforts at specific populations, including ethnoculture and Aboriginal communities, street-involved youth, and sex trade workers.
Participants in the study visit doctors or medical clinics on an annual basis, where they are tested for HIV and asked to complete a detailed questionnaire about their sexual practices, risk reduction efforts, life experiences and degree of social support.
"We're very lucky that Mary Lou was available to work with us," says Vanguard Project co-ordinator Steve Martindale. "Mary Lou's skills and experience will be a real asset to the project."
The study is open to all men who have sex with men, whether they define themselves as gay, bisexual or straight. Eligible participants must be between the ages of 18 and 30 and live in the Lower Mainland. Information gathered on participants will be kept strictly confidential.
Anyone interested in participating in the Vanguard Project is encouraged to contact Steve Martindale at 687-2469 or by e-mail at stevem@hivnet.ubc.ca.
For more information, contact:
Bonnie Devlin
Vanguard Project Coordinator
608 - 1081 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6Z 1Y6
Tel: (604)806-8306
Fax: (604)806-9044