Out in the Mountains

OITM Roundup:

State, National and World News Briefs

complied by Kip M. Roberson

Men’s Health Project
welcomes new staff

BURLINGTON -- With the new year comes new blood at the
Men’s Health Project. Chris Tebbetts of Burlington replaces Tom
Aloisi as Coordinator for the project, which was created in 1993 by
Vermont CARES with a grant from the Vermont Department of
Health. Recently arrived from New York City, Tebbetts’ past
work has included projects with Gay Men’s Health Crisis, Empire
State Pride Agenda, Pineapple Alliance and the 1993 March on
Washington.

The Men’s Health Project seeks to promote continued healthy
practices by providing outreach, education, and social events
aimed at Men who have Sex with Men, or MSM. This includes
men who consider themselves gay, bisexual or otherwise, as well
as those who are HIV positive, negative or unknown. Past events
for the group have included “Talking Sex” workshops,
presentations to students, tea dances, movie nights, and frequent
“bar blitzes” at 135 Pearl. “The point is to bring people together,”
says Tebbetts. “By uniting a community, you strengthen it. The
hard part is getting to everyone we would like to reach.” Outreach
to rural communities is an ongoing concern for the organization, he

 

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says. “Most of the attention in the past fourteen years has been paid
to safer sex education and behaviour change in urban areas, where
the statistical concentrations are greatest. Community participation
here will create social and cultural networks that are unique to the
needs of a rural state like Vermont.”

The organization, while headed by Tebbetts, succeeds with the
input and creativity of its volunteers. For further information on the
Men’s Health Project, to find out about volunteering, or to hear
about upcoming events, call (802)863-2437.

Clinton taps new AIDS czar

WASHINGTON, DC —— President Clinton has named Patricia
Fleming, a widely respected legislative specialist with 21 years of
government experience, as his new director of AIDS policy.

Clinton, who promised to make AIDS a priority in his
administration, has been attacked by AIDS activists who say he
has not done enough.

Clinton, introducing Fleming in a White House ceremony,
reaffirmed his commitment to battling the disease, saying: “The
face of AIDS is no longer the face of a stranger. It is the face of a
friend.  It is a disease with a human face.”

The president apparently hopes Fleming can succeed where her
predecessor, Kristine Gebbie, failed —- particularly in
communicating what the administration views as its achievements
in AIDS policy. After a year on the job, Gebbie left amid criticism
that she lacked access to the President and support from within the
federal agencies, and had neglected to consult with AIDS experts
and activists on the outside. Fleming had been serving as interim
AIDS policy director since August.

However, Clinton and Fleming —— and the AIDS community --
almost certainly will face a, far worse problem than
communication. With the new Republican and distinctively
conservative Congress, it will be a formidable challenge to secure
funding for AIDS programs.

“Like many Americans, AIDS has changed my life,” she said. “The
utter horror of the AIDS epidemic has reinforced my need to be an
activist. For that, I am grateful. But AIDS has also forced me to
attend too many funerals; to hold the hands of too many grieving
friends and family members; and to participate in too many
candlelight vigils. For that, I am angry. I am angry because as an
African—American, as a woman, and as a mother of three sons, I

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