Gay Men's Health Crisis

In June 1981, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control published a report documenting the case of five gay men in Los Angeles who were infected with Pneumocystis carinii, a rare strain of pneumonia. The following month, an article in the New York Times reported 41 cases of a rare cancer that had been identified in homosexuals throughout the United States. By October, the CDC had declared an epidemic, and, by December, 152 American cases were on record (Goldenberg & Wolfe, 1995, p. 2).

That summer, writer Larry Kramer gathered 80 men in his apartment for a discussion with a doctor of the growing "gay cancer." From this group, Kramer and five friends formed the Gay Men's Health Crisis the following January. By either July (Gorman, 1996-1997, De

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both preventive medicine and family practice, a public health expert and a confirmed activist" (Hollander, 1999, Winter, p. 1). The paid staff includes a remarkable array of specialists in the wide range of areas in which GMHC works, from an intensive team of case workers in the Care Management Department to a complete food services staff, an extensive publishing staff devoted to preparing the newsletter, and many others, including specialists in development, marketing, and business management. GMHC's large staff is well organized and compartmentalized, with the elaborate kinds of procedures and policies that show how established an institution the organization has become. The massive volunteer staff is equally well organized, trained, and supervised. GMHC's newsletter, Volunteer, provides volunteers and supporters with regular information about the organization's various programs, people, and policies, mixing articles about other volunteers, organizational news, and profiles of clients with statistics reminding readers of the magnitude of the problem. GMHC's relationship with its clients and its volunteers forms the basis of its relationship with the wider community. GMHC claims to be the oldest nonprofit dealing with th
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Approximate Word count = 2176
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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