NEW ORLEANS—
In America, the South is ground zero for the country’s ongoing HIV epidemic. According to statistics recently released by the, in 2017 the region produced 52 percent of the country’s new HIV diagnoses . Given that the model is working so well, you’d hope it could be replicated everywhere. But there’s a challenge: Just as recent breakthroughs like PrEP and rapid HIV testing are making remote outreach at gay bars more effective, gay bars themselves are disappearing. And not just in the South; across the country, establishments that have historically served the most marginalized subsets of the LGBTQ community are struggling against gentrification, rising rents, and shifting clienteles.
CrescentCare, formally known as the NO/AIDS Task Force, has worked with gay businesses in New Orleans for over 30 years, holding information-sharing events and fundraisers in bars and clubs since the early years of the epidemic. But recent breakthroughs in HIV treatment and prevention have made the group’s long-standing relationship with the bar scene even more fruitful.
Good riddance to bad garbage