The origin of the Brady East STD (BESTD) Clinic is documented in the Gay Peoples Union
(GPU) Proposal for an Examination Program for VD. The development of the clinic from a
program of the GPU to one of the most active and visible HIV testing sites in Wisconsin is
told in the annual reports to the GPU Board of Directors, 1974-1979, and the BESTD Board of
Directors meeting files, 1981-2000. Both sources contain information about clinic services
and programs, client demographics, and financials. The collection also documents the history
of the Milwaukee AIDS Project (MAP) and the clinic's cooperative efforts with other agencies
and projects, including the Aurora HIV/AIDS Care Team, the Coalition of Greater Milwaukee
Community Health Centers, the Milwaukee HIV Prevention Planning Project, and the Women's
Alternative Health Clinic.
In addition to documenting the history of the BESTD Clinic, the collection includes sources
of general informational value. Topics include human sexuality and sexually transmitted
diseases; the evolution of a "safer sex" discourse in response to HIV/AIDS in the 1980s;
clean needle exchange programs; and the history of HIV/AIDS with an emphasis on prevention,
diagnosis, and counseling. Much of this information is contained in brochures, posters, and
other materials produced and/or distributed by the clinic.
