For six years of his life, Tim Ward loved only one guy.
For the last 10, he has had to come to terms with having never questioned that unfailing devotion.
After years of ignoring advice to get tested for HIV/AIDS, Ward finally submitted and in the winter of 2002 he got his answer.
He was 18 and HIV positive.
The news put him in the company of those who, experts say, make up the largest segment of new HIV infections in the nation: 13- to 29-year-old men who have sex with men.
In the years since his diagnosis, Ward has worked tirelessly to reach as many teens as he possibility can -- to warn them about the virus and against teenage sex and to teach them to how to protect themselves.
"That's what drives me," he said.
Thirty years into the HIV/AIDS epidemic, gay and bisexual men of all races remain most affected by HIV in the U.S., said Tracy Elliott, executive director of AID Atlanta.
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
For instance, in 2009, he said white men accounted for the largest number of new infections -- 11,400 –- followed closely by black men – 10,800. In Georgia, there were 1,366 new HIV diagnoses in the same year. Of those, 49 percent were among gay men, with blacks accounting for 74 percent, whites 21 percent and Hispanics 5 percent.
“It’s frightening beyond belief,” Elliott said.
As the agency prepares to host its 21st annual AIDS Walk Atlanta & 5K Run Sunday in Piedmont Park, Elliott said the numbers highlight the need to step up education and prevention efforts among those infected and affected by the deadly virus.
“They certainly indicate we still have a significant problem with education and prevention in the gay community at large but particularly young gay men who did not live through the worst part of the epidemic,” he said.
Among gay white men, Elliott said, the distribution was very consistent, about 3,200 new infections for those aged 13 to 29.
But among black gay men like Tim Ward, the latest numbers show the distribution was weighted toward those 13 to 29 with 6,500 new infections.
Elliott blamed the disproportionate number on to the significant levels of poverty and unemployment.
“It follows that black gay men are more impoverished than white gay men so the disparity isn’t that surprising if you look at the why,” he said.
Still both white and black gay men said that education is key to stopping the spread of the virus. In addition, they said it's important that young gay men get tested and take steps to protect themselves.
Although he’d heard of the virus, Ward, now 28 and living in Atlanta, said he didn’t fully understand what it was until he was diagnosed on Jan. 21, 2002.
It was only then, he said, that he began to ask questions.
“How did this happen?” he asked himself. “Where did it happen. When did it happen? And who did I get it from?”
Although his relationship with his partner had long ended by that time, Ward said he’d trusted his life to a man who didn’t deserve it.
“I wasn’t sleeping around,” Ward said,.“He was.”
RELATED: Read the AJC's 2017 Series, "The Silent Epidemic: Black gay men and HIV"
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Jacob Burgess of Norcross was 21 when he was diagnosed in 2007.
It was the first time, he said, he’d heard of HIV/AIDS.
“It was like a ton of bricks hit me,” he said. “I thought someone would have told me the risk before entering into sex, but as I found out, people aren't always forthcoming.”
Now 26, Burgess said he has "joined in the fight to defeat this virus and get the word out about being open about your status."
“I help run a ministry for my church called Healing Hands Project and we are walking together in the AIDS walk,” he said.
Neither Burgess, who is white, nor Ward, who volunteers five days a week with the Evolution Project, a drop-in community center for young black gay men age 18 and 28, is surprised young gay men account for the largest number of new HIV infections. They say lack of awareness is the biggest culprit.
“I think my generation and younger forget that HIV is a real and growing infection in our community,” Burgess said. “My prayer is that we become the generation that will defeat this virus once and for all.”
The biggest battle, he said, will be defeating the fear of the unknown.
“This is why I encourage people to get tested and be open about your status,” he said.
Burgess said that’s also why he will be walking at Sunday’s event.
“First, I want to help give back financially to the organizations that were there for me when I was first diagnosed,” he said. “Second, I want to get the word out that we as a community need to stand together to fight HIV/AIDS and the fear and stigma that is associated with it.”
AJC Series, The Silent Epidemic
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
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