California: Magnet Celebrates Sixth Birthday

The Magnet health clinic in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood has been open for six years, providing the gay community with rapid HIV screening, STD testing and treatment, and hepatitis A and B vaccinations. Clients, friends, and Magnet staff gathered to celebrate its anniversary on July 7.

At first, some community members doubted Magnet's chances of success: They said its glass storefront windows would likely deter potential clients wary of the stigma of visiting such a public facility for STD screening.

"Our response was that maybe if we treated sexual health as something that somebody shouldn't be ashamed of, it wouldn't be stigma," Steven Gibson, Magnet's executive director. That first year, Magnet officials anticipated serving 1,500 clients, but "we had 3,000 come, so it turned out to be more than anybody was ready for," said Matthew Denckla, a Magnet community advisory board member. Magnet now has over 9,000 client visits annually.

"We also wanted to look at health for individuals as not just diseases but as people who are part of the community, served by art openings and socials and community forums, for instance," Gibson said. Volunteers are a key factor helping Magnet, he said.

Magnet is fortunate not to have had to reduce staff or services during California's budget crisis, Gibson said. The clinic has tapped additional funding from the San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF), and officials are examining applying for California HIV Research Program grants, he said.

"At this point, we want to be more available and increase some hours, although we are mindful of these difficult economic times," said Michael Siever, SFAF's director of behavioral health services. In the next year, Magnet may also be offering new technologies in testing, he said.

Back to other news for July 2009