R.U.1 .2? Receives Grant > continued from page 1 social. cultural, artistic. and edu- cational missions. The new direc- tor will be in charge of all day-to- day management and organiza- tion of the center. The Gill Foundation’s 21st Century Initiative for Non-Urban LGBT Community Centers grants $2 million to support and estab- lish new community centers in non-urban communities across the country. OIT/lfs Joel Nichols recently spoke with Don Eggert about the grant. How did R.U.1.2? originally get started? The project to organize a commu- nity center in Vermont began dur- ing a series of open community- wide meetings held at the University of Vermont by two undergraduate students working on a community development project for their Sexual Identities class. Consensus from these win- ter 1998 meetings indicated that there was a need for a permanent, public venue for the expression of our LGBTIQA community. What is the current staffing conditions? How many people volunteer there now? We have 20-25 unpaid volunteers who work on the board of direc- tors, sit on committees. plan sup- port groups, host social events, ' and help out with mailings. It seems like the queer commu- nity in Burlington is growing. Is there a way to quantify the number of people the Center serves? In December we began tracking the number of people who use “Headquarters” on a day-to-day basis. The following groups cur- rently meet on a regular basis: Both Sides Now, Dignity Vermont, Vermont Diversity Health Project, GLBT Alcoholics Anonymous, and Center Book Club. Regular events include GAYme Night, Movies & Munchies, Two Coming Out Support Groups for adults (one mixed-gender, one women-only), and a women's drop-in social. This Gill grant represents a major advance for R.U.1.2?. How did the board become aware of the initiative? At NGLTF's 2000 Creating Change Conference for grassroots progressive lgbt organizers in Atlanta, the Gill Foundation announced the 21st Century Initiative for Non-Urban Community Centers. We were encouraged to apply because we received general operating sup- port from Gill in 2001 and met the proposal guidelines. What are the qualities of the ideal executive director sought by the board? R.U.1.2? would benefit from an executive director who has signif- icant experience in non-profit management and is willing to guide a relatively new organiza- tion through an exciting and tur- bulent period of growth. We want to hear from candidates who are not afraid to get out into the com- munity, listen to people's needs and concerns, and devise a plan of action that makes use of the expanding resources at our com- munity center. Essentially, our executive director will be a leader who focuses his/her efforts on outreach to LGBTIQA Vermonters both within, and out- side the walls of R.U.l.2? 9 Headquarters. There aren’t that many gay jobs around. How many appli- cants do you expect? It is hard to say. We think it's a great job for someone who wants to work full-time for our commu- nity and make a real impact on the lives of LGBTIQA Vermonters. How will the center grow with the new executive director? We hope that the E.D. will be more accountable to the needs of our community and be available as a public representative of the center. Having someone in this position allows us to be at the table when important decisions R.U.1.2?’s headquarters on Bur|ington’s waterfront. are being made that affect our lives. We look forward to having an E.D. that will help us secure the long-terrn funding necessary for establishing a space of our own. What are the immediate goals? Our immediate goals will be to keep the center open and avail- able for anyone who needs to use it, especially during business hours. We need to keep our cur- rent programs strong by constant- ly recruiting new volunteers with fresh ideas. What do you hope the Center will do in the long term? As the Headquarters reaches its capacity we will be planning for expansion to a facility that will house multiple meeting rooms, a library, a cybercenter, gallery space, event space, and ofiices for other like-minded organiza- tions. I Racine with Mountain Pride Media’s Carrie Rampp in January Racine Connects with LGBT > continued from page 1 tinuing need. Outright Vermont, which had been performing as many as 80 school-based presen- tations a year in recent years, saw the number of requests for these presentations drop tojust 8 in 200]. “It became an environment of intimidation,” explained Rogers, noting that four invita- tions to visit schools were revoked within a week under pressure from anti-gay activists. In Rogers’ view, though, the important work of coordinat- ing a Safe Schools program geared towards providing safety for LGBT youth in schools and tools to educators to develop and support a safe environment, has not been effectively pursued by the Department of Education. Rogers cited a lack of leadership within the current administration as a key impediment to the appro- priate pursuit of safe schools. State government is not standing up and saying “we are going to meme Verrnont’s schools safe for LGBT youth.” Nor is the govem- ment welcoming Outright Vennont back into our schools to continue its important work. Palmer noted that this silence of the state government makes it complicit in the erosion of our schools as safe environments for all students. Palmer encouraged Racine to lead the next adminis- tration in being a pro-active part- ner with existing community groups. “The necessary partner- ship is not currently coming from the state.” Renfrew similarly ques- tioned the silence of our state government, and the Commissioner of Education specifically, in failing to condemn aNancy Sheltra-led initiative in the state legislature to ban acknowledgment of same sex relationships in Vermont’s schools except as the cause of HIV infections and AIDS. Sheltra’s initiative seeks to elimi- nate any conversation in the schools that might foster support for LGBTQA youth. By Sheltra’s standard, if you are not condemn- ing homosexuality, you are pro- moting it. Here again, Renfrew sees a state government that “is running from the gay issue.” Renfrew also took Racine and other political leaders and top administration officials to task for not publicly challenging the gay- bashing being perpetrated by some Republican legislators. Racine responded that “we have a quiet state government right now. lt’s on cruise control. It needs to change.” And change seems very much a part of Racine’s agenda for his own administration. “The upcoming change in administra- tion will provide an opportunity to review how business is being conducted throughout state gov- ernment. Perhaps over the past ten years, in the absence of a real shake-up, elements of the admin- istration may have become unre- sponsive.” A Montpelier Roundtable At his January 8th roundtable dis- cussion in Montpelier. attended by twelve members of the LGBT community, Racine asked the par- ticipants to “Tell me what you think should be different. What has state government done well, and what has it not done well?” Carrie Rampp underscored our community’s concern for LGBT youth and reiterated B.J. Rogers’ call for a stronger partnership between the state and Outright Vennont in addressing safe schools concerns. Chuck Kletecka criti- cized the Department of Health, and its AIDS Program in particu- lar, for its “failure to listen to the community on policy issues.” Kletecka asserted that there is a damaging lack of communication between the Department of Health and the community, and that the Department of Health poses barriers to community-driv- en initiatives around HIV preven- tion and the provision of methadone treatment. The result of the lack ofa working partner- ship between the Department and > cont'd on page 35