Secrets, Aids And Faith: The Story Of Joyce Claypool Claypool Broke The Silence

In 1988, only two HIV-infected people in Spokane spoke publicly about AIDS. Both were gay men.

Others stayed quiet for an obvious reason: many in Spokane thought homosexuals and intravenous drug users, the two groups at the greatest risk of infection, deserved their fate. Groups requesting AIDS speakers often specified “we don’t want homosexuals.”

Infected people in Spokane lost apartments because of the fears of landlords and other tenants. Elsewhere, they lost jobs.

In today’s IN Life, Part 3 of “Secrets, AIDS and Faith: The Story of Joyce Claypool” shows how a young woman and her 5-year-old daughter changed Spokane’s view of AIDS.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo