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FRIENDS VERMONT:

Caring for the Body, Mind, and Spirit

Dan Wolfe (from materials and an interview by
Walter Zeichrier)

There is a new non-profit HIV/AIDS
support organization forming in Ver-
mont: FRIENDS VERMONT. Modeled
on NYC’s Friends In Deed by co-
founders Fred MacGowan and Diana
Scholl, the stated mission of the new
organization is “to provide emotional,

spiritual, and psychological support to"

all those affected by HIV and AIDS” ,
including caregivers, families, and
friends.

Why another organization? Both Fred
and Diana feel the need for some empha-
sis on the spiritual needs of people af-
fected by HIV/AIDS. The term spiritual
they define to include both established
Western and Eastern belief systems as
well as meditation techniques and atten-
tion to the psychological aspects of well-
ness.

Fred, a native Vermonter and PWA,
comes to this conclusion through his
personal experience of participating in
such organizations as The Healing Cir-
cle in New York. He envisions
FRIENDS VERMONT as “a net-
working of friends with a focus on im-
proving the quality of life on a day to
day basis.” Diana arrived at this shared
viewpoint through her studies for a
doctoral degree in ministry at the Epis-
copal Divinity School in Boston,
where she worked especially in pas-
toral care, counseling, spirituality, and
healing. The organization will, in her
words, “give equal attention and nu-
turing to all sides of a person’s life as
they are dealing with this disease.”

Whom will FRIENDS VERMONT
serve? Everyone who has a diagnosis
of HIV/AIDS, their friends, families,
and caregivers. “It’s really building a
new community that’s based in love

and compassion for each other,” says
Diana, to which Fred adds, “Being
more loving human beings is the key:
the twelve step and recovery groups
are also models for us, as is A Course
in Miracles. All of these can be very
powerful ways for people to feel

loved.”

What will FRIENDS VERMONT do?
Basically offer a confidential, safe
home where weekly gatherings can
take place. These meetings will build a
support family for everyone who
comes. This support can reach out
when people are unable to come to
meetings. Friends help one another
come to terms with various aspects of
dealing with a catastrophic illness.
Since medical research indicates that
support group participants live longer
and in a better state of health than
those who do not, a variety of work-
shops and fun activities will be offered
in addition to the core series of weekly
meetings. .

FRIENDS VERMONT will also reach
out to people in rural areas, involving
them regularly to lessen the effects of
their isolation. It will offer to schools,
hospitals, and libraries up-to—date in-
formation stored on a series of comput-
er disks about services, support, and
health care collected from international
databases. FRIENDS VERMONT will
also provide referrals to alternative
practitioners, as well as printed materi-
als from the disks. Materials and ser-
vices will be free of charge.

Where will FRIENDS VERMONT
meet? Two core groups will begin to
meet in the Rutland and Burlington ar-
eas by mid-October. Confidential loca-
tions and information on workshops

802-773-8990
(802) 888-4100 Office (FAX) 802-775-6655

(802) 888-2977 Home

PO Box 220
Hyde Park. Vermont 05655-0220

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