Each week the AIDS Walk Boston Blog will profile one of our programs at AIDS Action Committee. The money raised by the Walk is crucial for supporting these vital programs. 

This week we spoke with Mark Forry, Program Manager at The MALE Center:

Three years ago, the MALE Center was born out of community dialogues lead by members of the AIDS Action Committee Board of Directors. During those conversations, the most resonant need identified was a place for men to gather that felt safe and particularly their own. 

In June of 2005, The MALE Center opened its doors at 571 Columbus Ave. Since opening, The MALE Center has evolved into a diverse mix of programming aimed at the many causal factors involved with HIV and STD transmission.  A staff of six and an army of twenty-six volunteers address these factors through several programs: free rapid HIV testing and counseling services, HIV prevention specialists, and sex life coaching.

The central program at the MALE Center is called Community PROMISE. Staff or volunteers head out to the bars and clubs to distribute safer sex kits and information to help countless men access HIV counseling and testing services offered at the Center.

Resist Meth, our Crystal Methamphetamine prevention program, is an innovative collaboration between AIDS Action, Latino Health Institute and Fenway Community Health. Through this program men are trained to be peer educators called New Champions. The New Champions go out into their social networks to disseminate information about around reducing substance use and abuse and offer support to their peers.

In addition to our commitment to reducing the number of new HIV infections among men who have sex with men, The MALE Center is dedicated to strengthening the ties that bind Gay and Bisexual men.  Social programs are offered as a space for men to connect; feeling part of the larger community is just one more way men can learn to advocate for their own health needs. Examples of these programs are the Gay and Bi Men’s monthly reading group as well as GAyME night, a monthly game night for guys. The biggest event, called Bridging the Gap is a social night held one Friday a month where men gather for drinks and light fare served in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere; a place for men to meet up aside from crowded and noisy bars.

Funds raised through AIDS Walk Boston support programs like The MALE Center, please register or donate today to help us continue these vital services.