Skip to main content

AIDSMeds creator fulfills dream, helps others

Peter Staley offers an interactive and informative website for those with AIDS.
By Terri Rimmer
Updated: 08/27/05
Staley created a forum for those with HIV and AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) to come together in support, education, and information.

[Full Story Below ↓]

This story was written by Citizen Journalist Terri Rimmer. We encourage you to click the Tip Jar to support this writer's work. By Terri Rimmer

HappyNews Citizen Journalist


Peter Staley has a beautiful view of the lake.


His line of sight where he lives in Pennsylvania goes beyond the physical since he started his own organization to help others like himself. In the process he also helped himself by being able to get off of disability.


With aidsmeds.com Staley created a forum for those with HIV and AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) to come together in support, education, and information.


"I had been a long-term AIDS activist and in the late 90s I left a treatment action group which I founded and was director of," said Staley. "I spent a couple of years trying to figure out what to do with my life and hired a career counselor."


This was around the time when Protease Inhibitors came out and it looked like Staley was going to live a lot longer than he thought.


"I didn't know what I wanted to do. I didn't know what that idea would be. I eventually came up with the idea of aidsmeds.com," he said. "I was beginning to use the internet to follow HIV treatment information related to it. I was finding that major sites out there were not easy to navigate so I thought there was an opening there that could be explored. I thought I could create a business with my connections to drum up funding for a site."


Staley launched aidsmeds.com in March 2000 and said he has been able to fulfill a dream doing something entrepreneurial that at the same time helps people and they can feel good about.


"The response has been overwhelming," he said. "They love the site. We now have the most popular HIV-related community forums on the net and so it's something I've become very proud of and it's something that everyone who works with me is very proud of. At the same time I've been able to get off of disability and make a nice living."


Aidsmeds.com has been profiled in the gay press, mentioned frequently in Poz Magazine, and occasionally in mainstream press when reference is made to his site.


"I'd just like to keep it growing, keep traffic growing and make it even better," said Staley. "The most recent thing we did was have HIV blogs. Right now it's six individuals recruited from community forums all living with HIV talking about their dreams, hopes, and day to day activities. So that's made it more communal because we have a specific community forum so people can comment about what bloggers are talking about. This has been a dream come true and it's very fulfilling."


Staley, who used to work out of his Brooklyn, N.Y. home, said he continues to find his business interesting work year in and year out and that he would never set up an office. There are no full-time employees but Staley has four freelance writers and some freelance programmers.


"But I get to do editing one day, programming the next, fundraising another day," said Staley. "I'm dreaming about new content ideas all along the way and feeling good about it as people continually come to the site to help improve their lives."


One of Staley's writers attends HIV-related conventions. Staley said you can get all the information given at conventions online now.


For more information, go to wwww.aidsmeds.com or email Staley at editors@aidsmeds.com.


This story was produced by Happynews Citizen Journalist Terri Rimmer. Terri Rimmer works from Fort Worth, TX.
For more information on contributing to Happynews, click here.

More Health Stories
Helmets may help skiers avoid injury
Computer lets parents track kids eating
You're never too old for dodgeball
Candy makers cater to the health-conscious
New compound may protect against liver cancer
More Stories by Terri Rimmer
The “C” word
The know-it-alls of Halloween
Halloween costumes made easy
The art and economy of dumpster diving
Animal Magazine holding benefits for Katrina pets
Print This Article | E-Mail This Article Terms of Use & Disclaimer | Contact Us | © 2005 HappyNews.comLook for some happy news for a change » Updated: 2/22/2006 11:24:26 PM
RSS Feed Bookmark This Page Tell a Friend Make HappyNews Your Homepage
Home

International
National
Heroes
Health
Opinion & Editorials
Science & Technology
Environment
Arts & Entertainment
Sports
Business/Money
Happily Ever After

HappyLiving


Contact Us

About Us

Report Happy News


Happy Newsletter
Sign up to get our top happy headlines e-mailed to you daily by entering your e-mail address below:






"The Happynews glass is always at least half-full, and sometimes it bubbles right over."

"Happynews.com forsakes war and famine, terror and man's inhumanity to man 24/7."

"As far as anyone can tell, it's the first international and national daily news organization dedicated exclusively to upbeat stories."


Unhappy News

MSNBC

CNN

ABCNews

FOX News

BBC News

Popular posts from this blog

Families are the Fastest Growing Group in the US Homeless Population

Content Clout: 3.0 out of 5 Rate Content 5 (best) 4 3 2 1 (worst) Published Dec 5, 2005 by Terri Rimmer happynews.com, Adoption.about.com Related Content View all (7 total) A Writing Contest is Benefiting Homelessness Community Action Committee Donate Your Old Cell Phone More by Terri Rimmer View all (163 total) Classic House Destroyed by Katrina Step Up Women's Network Offers Professional and Ph... Poor Scores for the US on Family-Friendly Workplac... Did you know? Homeless women have to deal with being victimized in shelters by some male residents. Takeaways · 81 percent of single homeless people enter and exit shelters quickly. · The Salvation Army allows for a three-night stay. · Between 700,000 and 800,000 people are homeless on any given night. Comment | Add your own article to our site Between 700,000 and 800,000 people are homeless on any given night. People like Roger and David who when they moved to Dallas thought it would be a haven. Most families beco

EZH2: Enzyme That Promotes Cancer May Also Prevent It

READ LATER COMMENT E-MAIL PRINT May Help Researchers Stop the Process of Tumor Development Click to rate: Bad < > Good Published Jan 12, 2006 by Terri Rimmer ryze.com, Adoption.about.com Related Content View all (6 total) The Children's Health Environmental Coalition... Row, Row, Row Your Boat: One Man's Battle Aga... How to Talk to and Support a Friend Facing Ca... More by Terri Rimmer View all (230 total) Bars, Live Music and Nightlife in Fort Worth How to Not Get Conned An Obscure Read Did you know? Cancer will affect 1 in 3 individuals. Takeaways · EZH2 is a biomarker enzyme. · Leandra Smith was diagnosed with cancer in 1996. · Terry Healey was diagnosed with a disfiguring cancer. Comment | Add your own article to our site An enzyme that promotes cancer may prevent it according to new research at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. A protein that identifies aggressiveness appears in two forms, according to CancerWise, a publication of the C

Money To The Wind

By Terri Rimmer Ronnie used to pay for everything with plastic, get a high off of his weekends in Shreveport, and stroll through life without a care in the world – or so it seemed. Today he has been unemployed for months, is trying to get on disability, and has to sell junk he finds just to put gas in his car. “Most of my money I lost gambling,” he told his friend Elaine recently to which she gasped. Not most of his money – all of it. When one woman dated him briefly she thought he was rich the way he flashed his credit cards around all the time, paying for everything at expensive restaurants, movies; etc. Until she saw his house and how it was falling apart at the seams. “I should be ashamed of myself living like this,” he said and she silently agreed though she knew he was in the throes of a gambling addiction that he was in denial about. Gone are the days when Ronnie would travel to the casinos out of town to gamble and come back a lot of times with a lot of money, excited to the co