2609
Names on Quilt Block: William A. Creger, William E. Howard II., Tom Horan, John Pietrofere Jr., Richard "Rick" Simmons, and Ted Haughton
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The Gay Men’s Health Crisis was first started as an informal gathering of eighty men in Larry Kramer’s apartment in 1981 in response to what was at the time “gay cancer” and how to raise funds for research. A year later Nathan Frain, Larry Kramer, Larry Mass, Paul Popham, Paul Rapoport, and Edmund White officially established the Gay Men’s Health Crisis and set up an answering machine as the world’s first AIDS hotline. It received over 100 calls in the first night! By 1984 the Gay Men’s Health Crisis then published its first safe sex guidelines, “Health Sex is Great Sex”. They group continued to hold fundraising events and in 1986 held the first AIDS Walk in New York City for over 4,500 participants. In 1997 they began providing onsite HIV testing and counseling services through their Center for HIV Prevention and Education. They expanded their AIDS hotline to email in the year 2000 and continued hosting AIDS walks annually. In 2005 the AIDS Walk raised a record breaking $5.8 million. They continued expanding their service offerings and advocating in the State and Nation’s Capitols in the following years. Today they continue to provide resources and services for people living with HIV/AIDS and for prevention. For more information visit their website.
The Gay Men’s Health Crisis was first started as an informal gathering of eighty men in Larry Kramer’s apartment in 1981 in response to what was at the time “gay cancer” and how to raise funds for research. A year later Nathan Frain, Larry Kramer, Larry Mass, Paul Popham, Paul Rapoport, and Edmund White officially established the Gay Men’s Health Crisis and set up an answering machine as the world’s first AIDS hotline. It received over 100 calls in the first night! By 1984 the Gay Men’s Health Crisis then published its first safe sex guidelines, “Health Sex is Great Sex”. They group continued to hold fundraising events and in 1986 held the first AIDS Walk in New York City for over 4,500 participants. In 1997 they began providing onsite HIV testing and counseling services through their Center for HIV Prevention and Education. They expanded their AIDS hotline to email in the year 2000 and continued hosting AIDS walks annually. In 2005 the AIDS Walk raised a record breaking $5.8 million. They continued expanding their service offerings and advocating in the State and Nation’s Capitols in the following years. Today they continue to provide resources and services for people living with HIV/AIDS and for prevention. For more information visit their website.
