Drinking, as elsewhere in the circumpolar region, often camouflages deeper, painful issues related to social change. Many Greenlanders with AIDS choose to live in Copenhagen because of the relative anonymity offered by the big city far from home. Greenland House's AIDS worker, Lotte Hinge, says that most AIDS sufferers are not intravenous drug users, but rather gay men or women infected by bisexual partners. AIDS multiplying AIDS cases in Greenland have multiplied at an alarming rate because Hinge says that testing for the HIV virus is extremely inefficient. All tests are done in Denmark.
Several months can pass before the results are relayed back to Greenland.
During that time, infected individuals often pass on the virus to others. Even when positive test results come back, Hinge says that many don't want to tell their partners about their condition. And while there are no jails in Greenland and its justice system tries to avoid detention as punishment, many Greenlanders with a history of violent crime are also in Danish jails or mental hospitals. Greenland House also tries to help these prisoners or long-term patients obtain services. Apart from meeting such practical and emotional needs, Copenhagen's house and three smaller illuutaat around the country also try to inform Danes about Greenland.