Fear is one of the primary feelings that gets in the way of hope.
Faith is one powerful answer.
As a society, we in the U.S.A. have inherited a puritan streak which prevents many from facing the issues of sexuality which HIV raises. Our society is so afraid of death, that we hide the dying in hospitals, nursing homes, and hospices. While there are people who die surrounded by loved ones, my experience as a chaplain at an AIDS hospice in Los Angeles has shown me how many people in the dying process are abandoned by loved ones. The primary reason is fear. Some gay men are so scared of HIV that they have become celibate, or even gone back into the closet.