A-LISTS community spotlight by brad shaw SAN DIEGO YOUNG POZ’S
Although Los Angeles transplant Howie Realubit is 29 years old, he could very well be the living embodiment of the decades old tune, “Accentuate The Positive,” in his quest to get the word out about San Diego Young Poz. “I first became aware of SDYP because I transferred over to UCSD; I’m a bio chemistry major and I’m also planning on going to medical school,” he said about how he first became aware of the organization. “I’m kind of a Type A person and I look for things, and that’s how I found SDYP. I’ve been part of a lot of gay poz and non-poz communities in L.A. So, when I knew that I was moving to San Diego, I wanted to see if there was a group that was along the same lines and there was.” The organization, which was formed in 2004, offers “brotherhood, camaraderie and a sense of normalcy” for its members. Plus, there’s a wealth of resources in the areas of education about HIV, a slew of events to attend and workout sessions at Barry’s Boot- camp and BCOR Fitness. But perhaps its greatest power lies in the group’s ability to be inviting and all-inclusive. “We’re not a support group, we’re a social group, but we don’t reject anybody,” Rea-
lubit explained. “Even people who are not poz can join, we’re not excluding anybody.” The former marine, who was stationed at Camp Pendleton for six years, also sees the
group as a way to demystify the stigmas surrounding being HIV positive. “The whole motivation for San Diego Young Poz is that a lot of things have changed and people are living longer,” he said. “I mean the only difference between me and a HIV negative person is that I just take one more pill a day. “The only problem that we have to deal with is a stigma, not just from straight people,
but from other gay people, as well. I realize that when something happens to some- body, they either rise above it or they don’t.” Through his participation as a board member and President-elect at SDYP, Realubit has taken the rise above approach. He sees his involvement as an opportunity to get the entire LGBT community to become even more diversified through unity, and not be so set on our “caste system” ways. “The gay community likes to form cliques,” he stated. “What I’m doing different with
SDYP is that we’re forming, obviously a clique, because there needs to be a niche for that for poz people. But, we’re reaching out. We’re saying, ‘Hey, we’re here, we’re in the community, there’s no need to fear us, there’s nothing different.’ If you want to put it into simple key terms, we’ll just call it Poz Pride.” The group’s efforts fall upon three key principles, as well as extending themselves
beyond just their own organization. “My main goal with the organization is three things: fundraising, meeting new people and member retention and recruitment,” he explained. “One of things we did for that is we reached out to Family Health Centers, and they have great resources for us. And we reached out to The Center and they have become ardent supporters and it’s a great, nurturing partnership with both. Family Health Centers are helping SDYP members get jobs.” Realubit recently became involved with helping with preparation for Family Health
Centers’ campaign regarding third party notifications. “All these movers and shakers of the gay community were there,” he said of the
experience. “And Victoriano Diaz said that he was really happy that we were there, as me representing SDYP, because he was introducing the campaign to my demographic.” As for teaming up with The Center, he had this to say: “Carlos Marquez recognizes
how invaluable groups like us are, because we do a double purpose for the community.” he said. “We bring out Poz members, we get them to be empowered and to just come out and say that they’re poz. And what that does for the rest of the gay community is that it brings everything up into the light. And when that happens, it’s not a big deal to be scared of it, and it’s not a big deal to get tested.” On a personal level, Realubit would like to have his own status be a non-issue, as well. “My ultimate goal is to have somebody introduce me as, ‘This is my friend Howie,
he’s poz.’ In the same tone as someone saying, ‘Oh, this is my friend Howie and he has asthma.’” For more information, log onto
sdyp.org
HOWIE REALUBIT ACCENTUATES THE POSITIVE
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RAGE monthly | NOVEMBER 2010
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