Putting gay black men on safer path is their cause

It's Saturday night, and the city's young gay black men have plenty of options.

A sex party is percolating in a private home, the "gyms" that have replaced bath houses are open for business, and an underground voguing competition is under way.

Noel Ramirez and Quincy Greene know where the action is and understand its allure. But they understand the danger, too.

Young gay black men are contracting HIV at twice the rate as their white and Hispanic counterparts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And nearly half of all Americans with HIV are African Americans.

Which is why Ramirez and Greene go around to the places where unsafe sex is likely to be had, giving the gatekeepers lubricant, condoms, and contact information for organizations serving gay men.

It might seem that in 2011, 30 years after AIDS began its deadly rampage, everyone knows how to avoid getting the disease. But the bullet points from advertising campaigns and classroom lectures ricochet off many young men who feel unworthy and so engage in a dangerous impersonation of love.

Trying to capture their attention and trust, says Ramirez, is "like trying to catch water. They slip through your fingertips." An effective way to reach them, public-health studies show, is on their own turf.

In May, Greene and Ramirez opened a place where young people can spend Saturday nights safely.

They call it the Q Spot, and twice a month, from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m., they welcome between a dozen and a hundred gay, lesbian, and transgender youths at the Broad Street Ministry.

A graduate student from the University of Pennsylvania tutors in academic subjects. A therapist from the Council for Relationships offers advice. Certified workers provide free and confidential HIV testing.

Through contacts at a nonprofit called Foyer of Philadelphia, Ramirez and Greene help find housing for the homeless or those who have aged out of foster care. They also enlist youths to help run the Q Spot, where anyone can hang out, eat a free dinner, talk to peers, or watch TV.

Ramirez, 25, is a social worker at St. Christopher's Hospital. Greene, 32, is a program manager with Brothers United, part of an HIV-prevention health project funded by the CDC. In their day jobs, both men work with LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning) young people, connecting them to services.

Greene also founded the nonprofit Educational Justice Coalition to provide educational and career opportunities for LGBTQ youths.