enty years ago HIV was an
issue primarily of urban con-
cern. When reality hit

Vermont‘s “urban” center, a commu-
nity-based, grassroots organization
was formed. Vermont CARES, which
now serves ten of Vermont’s fourteen
counties, was started not far from
Burlington’s one gay bar.

Recently Vermont CARES
Executive Director David Hooks
moved on to pursue other career «
opportunities. The Board of Directors
has named a new Executive Director,
Kendall Farrell, to the position. I had
the opportunity to interview Kendall
at her new desk.

Rob Larabee: Hello Kendall, and
welcome to your new position.

Kendall Farrell: Hi Rob, and thanks
for meeting with me.

RL: How long have you been in the
Burlington area?

KF: I moved to Vermont in 1996
from Boston where I had been work-
ing in direct service with people liv-
ing with HIV/AIDS. Most of my
experience up to that point was in
hospice care and case management.

RL: How long you have been with
Vermont Cares? —

 

 ._   _ couple of
different job's“'i"2i't‘\"/e1%'t")'f‘i!;t CARES
before I was hired in 1997. When I
moved here in l996 I began volun-
teering at CARES using my hospice
experience and provided support to a
gentleman living with HIV. I was
ultimately looking for a job at an
ASO [AIDS Service Organization]
and was determined to get involved
whether it was volunteer work or oth-
erwise. The HIV providers communi-
ty is fairly small in Vennont, and
there are a limited number of organi-
zations. In this area Vermont CARES
was the only option available.

I stuck it out for a year or
so, and I was hired in 1997. Initially I
was hired to help develop 600 Dalton
Drive, Ver'mont’s only residential
facility for people living with HIV
and provide services to the residents.
From there ’I became the Team
Coordinator and later the Program
Director for Services before switch-
ing gears to Special Events
Fundraising more recently.

RL: Tell us a little something about
yourself, about your educational and
family background.

KF: I graduated from William Smith
College in 1992 with a degree in
Sociology and an Independent Study
in HIV/AIDS. From there I moved
back to Boston, where my family still
lives, until moving to Vermont. 1 live
in Burlington with my husband Chad
and our 12-year-old golden retriever,
Dakota.

RL: There have been several
Executive Directors prior to you. Do
you have any plans for major
changes?

KF: Over the past couple of years
Vermont CARES has been through
several transitions. While these

 rgining joke at" I’ 

changes have provided opportunities
for growth for CARES, I hope to
build off the foundation of program-
ming and provide stability to the
agency as a whole. I think what is
important now is to focus on our pre-
vention and services efforts, which
are at the core of our mission and
build on the partnerships that we
have developed throughout the com-
munities of Vermont with people
affected by HIV/AIDS.

RL: Each year fimding for services
has changed from both the state and
federal Ryan White dollars. This year
is no exception as all state agencies
have had drastic cuts. Can you talk a
little about the changes that have
affected services and VT CARES’s
ability to deliver services to people
living with HIV/AIDS in your areas?

KF: Vermont CARES has been
greatly affected by both inconsisten-
cies and reductions in funding both
on state and federal levels as well as
through private foundation grants and

interview b ob larabee

general donations. Recently we were
in a position where we needed to
revisit our budget, to take a look at
Vermont CARES structure and really
determine what we-can and cannot
afford when it comes to program-
ming. As a result Vermont CARES
made the difficult decision to restruc-
ture our stafiing from a 21-member
team to 14. We are optimistic that the
changes will continue to have a mini-
mal impact on the direct services that
we provide to people living with and
affected by HIV/AIDS. The changes
will require the staff to reorganize
internally and develop creative ways
that Vermont CARES can more effi-
ciently carry out our mission.

One of the greatest chal-
lenges that we are currently facing is
our goal to reach 10 out of the 14
counties with prevention and servic-
es. Not only is this a large area geo-
graphically but each region of the

- state of Vermont faces its own set of

very unique challenges and barriers
to services. Quite simply it takes a
considerable amount of funding to

support the programs that Vermont
CARES is committed to providing
throughout the communities of
Vermont. As a result we depend
largely on donations from these com-
munities in addition to a diverse
group of public and private funding
sources to continue to support the
work that we do. At this point in
time our main focus is to stay alert to
the changes in funding streams and
the impact this has on CARES; ulti-
mately our goal is to have a balance
of diverse funding sources so that
these inevitable fluctuations in fund-
ing will have less of an impact on the
agency as a whole. ,

RL: Vermont CARES covers most of
the state. How many HIV-positive
individuals at any given time might
you be serving?

KF: Vermont CARES provides serv-
ices to close to 150 people living
with HIV/AIDS. We also provide
prevention outreach and education to
thousands of Vermonters at risk of

  
 

HIV infection.

RL: Since you have held a position
in the case management services area
of VT CARES you must know many
of the HIV-positive individuals. What
effect do you feel this will have on
your style of management?

KF: I believe that my experience
working with people living with
HIV/AIDS will help to provide addi-
tional opportunities to build on exist-
ing partnerships in the community.
My approach to the work that
CARES does is very matter-of-fact.
Vermont CARES has a certain level
of experience in the work that we are
doing but by no means is this the
end-all-be-all. CARES relies heavily
on working in partnership with peo-
ple affected by HIV/AIDS to incor-
porate feedback into the work that we
do.

My goal is to improve the
lines of communication among the
HIV community to work toward
accessible and relevant prevention
efforts and services to people affected
by HIV/AIDS. Vermont CARES
relies on these partnerships in order
to accomplish our mission. These
relationships are essential for us to
receive feedback on our program-
ming, identify our strengths and chal-

'- _ lenges and pinpoint aps in services.
:. '5’-.3. :. . .-

  

welcou taskhbiut is there anything
you would like to say at this time?

KF: Over the past 16 years Vermont
CARES has made every effort to
evolve with the changes in the AIDS

_ epidemic. Our ultimate goal is to

break down the barriers that keep
people from accessing services and
ultimately provide services that are
relevant to as many individuals as
possible.

A common perception is
that AIDS is a gay disease. While
AIDS affects a growing number of
populations, Vennont statistics do
show that HIV/AIDS still largely
affects gay men. Vermont CARES
has faced the challenge of providing
services that are “queer friendly”
while at the same time not alienating
other populations who are also in
need of services. _

There is an on-going effort
to continue to raise awareness of the
issue of HIV/AIDS throughout
Vermont. AIDS is not over! Vermont
CARES’ biggest challenges are to
provide relevant prevention to those
at risk while continuing to integrate
the diverse communities affected by
the virus and provide accessible_serv-
ices.

RL: On behalf of the HIV-positive
community and the Vermont People
with AIDS Coalition, 1 would like to
welcome you to your new post at
Vermont CARES. '

KF: Thanks, I look forward to work-
ing together to increase awareness of
HIV/AIDS, provide services to those
in need and ultimately prevent the
spread of HIV in Vermont. V

Rob Larabee is a Consumer
Advocate with the Vermont People
with AIDS Coalition and lives in the
Northeast Kingdom.

me, any’ questions