IT WAS LIKE A DEATH SENTENCE

Dear Lucas,

I had just received my results. I didn't say a word. I didn't cry. I was numb.

It was 1986, and back then testing positive for HIV was the equivalent of receiving a death sentence. I didn't know what to do and there wasn't a person in the world I felt I could tell.

I felt alone and scared...outcast and rejected. I'd already lost more friends to AIDS than I could count. I wondered: Would I be next?

My diagnosis felt like the last straw. I began to tie up loose ends. I even bought the suit I would be buried in.

My greatest fear was not that I would die – but that no one would care.

Today, that world seems so far away because of GMHC. You see, I went to GMHC for a hot meal. I wasn't expecting much. But that meal opened so many doors.

In many ways I felt that my life was already over, but the people I met at GMHC showed me that it was not. It was the first time in a long time I believed people cared about me.

GMHC showed me that I could work to have my life back...could work to get healthy...could once again be part of the world...and that they'd always be there for me.

I can honestly say I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for GMHC.

PS: Thanks to you, GMHC is saving lives like mine every day. If you'd like to support GMHC, please make a gift today.