Battling H.I.V. Where Sex Meets Crystal Meth
Nicholas Roberts for The New York Times
Terry Evans, an outreach worker with the Positive Health Project in Manhattan, browses gay message boards to find black and Latino men using crystal methamphetamine, then tries to give them information about the drug and protected sex. By ANDREW JACOBS Published: February 21, 2006
Correction Appended Terry Evans turned on the computer, punched in his password and set out on the prowl. It was a Saturday night, and with more than 900 men logged onto the sex site Adam4Adam.com, he had no problem finding his quarry: a 25-year-old man nicknamed "Bronxplayer" who was looking to "party-n-play," cyberspace lingo for engaging in a sexual encounter enhanced with crystal methamphetamine. "Wanna play?" Mr. Evans wrote. "Let's talk and make it happen." But Mr. Evans, an outreach worker for Positive Health Project, an advocacy group that strives to reduce the spread of H.I.V., was not looking to do drugs. He was trying to lure Bronxplayer into his support group for black and Latino men whose lives have been hijacked by crystal meth, an illegal stimulant known to melt away inhibitions. After a few minutes of back-and-forth banter, Mr. Evans revealed his hand and the man begged off. "Not everyone's happy with the bait-and-switch, but there aren't many ways to get people's attention," Mr. Evans said as he scrolled down, searching for his next prospect. "Sometimes a guy will get hostile, but then he'll come back later to ask me questions." But he has succeeded, via the Internet, in persuading some men to join his group.