25 faces: Leaders fighting HIV/AIDS in Colorado

4 Matt Adrian

“It’s tough for HIV-positive people, and I’d like to see that change,” said Matt Adrian, 35, of Denver, former Vice President of CAP who became involved with HIV/AIDS work years ago after a friend tested positive.

“He went into a depression – to see him affected that badly hurt me. The depression seemed like something that didn’t have to happen, and yet it had happened.”

Adrian said he spent a lot of time thinking and caring for his friend, who is still living but suffered emotionally more than he had to. After his friend’s situation improved, Adrian joined the board of the Colorado AIDS Project.

“I hear about people being rejected in a relationship – there’s a lack of education around how to have sex in positive-negative relationships, and those who have a depression for 6 months after they’re diagnosed, thinking it’s a death sentence,” Adrian said. “It’s a disease that could be eliminated if everyone had safer sex, and to younger people we need to say why damage your liver with a medication if you don’t have to. But you don’t want people living with it to think it’s a death sentence.”

Adrian said that much of CAP’s work is to help those who are not prepared to take a pill every day to stop HIV from progressing to AIDS, and the organization needs to help them and those with other life issues like poverty or mental illness that often coincide with HIV.

“A lot of people just don’t see the benefit of what CAP does for the community,” Adrian said. “Apathy is affecting the way people contribute.”

Adrian emphasized that education about safe sex and prevention is important – but for him, the chance to offer comfort and hope to those who, like his friend, are infected, is a special part of the reason he got involved.

“He wasn’t strong enough to fight” like this, Adrian said. “So it was my way of fighting for him.”