Bennington Area AIDS Project by Nancy Bums Though Bennington may be home to a relatively closeted gay, lesbian, and bi- sexual community, that community may be proud of the organization two men have put together only a year and a half ago-the Bennington Area AIDS Project (B.A.A.P.). In November, 1989, Ted Doucette and Mark Crawford held the Project’s first meeting which 35-40 peo- ple attended. These were all volunteers-- people wanting to help establish an AIDS project in Bennington, wanting to get out there and start providing services to people with AIDS (PWAs) and their families and wanting to educate the greater community about AIDS. ' “In all our dealings, I have not had one rebuff,” states Doucette. Both men feel that the general response has been over- whelmingly supportive. The Bennington Banner, the area’s daily newspaper, has given the project quite a bit of positive press. A front page anicle touted the Project’s first meeting, and various ar- ticles have charted the activities and progress of B.A.A.P. The exposure has created a lot of interest. “There isn’t a redneck attitude,” says Doucette. “Most people don’t think it’s [AIDS] here. When they realize it is, they ask ‘What can I do?”’ The money supporting B.A.A.P. has been mostly unsolicited; people have found out about the project and have given. Doucette says that the area’s churches have been great; one church even budgeted a contribution to the Pro- ject. B.A.A.P. dedicates itself to public education, offers support groups for Par- ents/Friends and for HIV+/PWAs, pro- vides assistance whenever needed, spon- sors speakers (this March they (HARSCH ASSOCIATES BUILDING) BENNINGTON, VT 05201 sponsored a Soviet psychiatrist who spoke on AIDS in the USSR), fundraises to offset the costs of the services they provide, and dreams of services they can offer in the future. Crawford and Don- cette look forward to the day when an area AIDS home can be established. “The home would provide housing for AIDS patients when they are well and a medical wing staffed with nurses and doctors for when they are sick,” says Doucette. They hope to have level 2 care (covered by Medicaid) and level 3 and 4 care available at this home. They also hope to create a contingency fund. Craw- ford states, “I don’t want anyone with HIV+/AIDS in this part of the state to worry about anything. We just have to find a way to correct whatever it is. Hopefully, this fund will be part of that way.” Doucette and Crawford also plan to de- velop a training program for volunteers. There will be intensive three day pro- grams (much like those in San Francisco and Chicago) covering such topics as suicide prevention, hospice care, home care, methods of counseling, help-line training, and holistic treatments. Their goal is to give volunteers as “in depth a caregiver’s instruction as possible.” Ben- nington's Project is quite different from those in Brattleboro and Burlington. Here the majority of those involved are hetero- sexual which tends to alter the Project’s dynamics. Doucette and Crawford try to keep politics out of it, emphasizing in- stead establishing the Project and pro- viding support. In so doing they have created the third largest Project in the state in an area where one wouldn’t ex- pect to find it. The people who utilize the services of B.A.A.P. are sure glad it’s Susan Franz, M.A. Kate O'Brien, M.S. Psychotherapists ’ Individual Couples Family Group 15 Pinecrest Drive Essex Junction,VT 05452 802/878-4399 BY APPOINTMENT SPIRIT \ / DR. NANCY L. BURNS / \ CHIROPRACTIC PHYSICIAN BODY MIND 185 NORTH smear (802) 447-2110 Therapeutic Massage and Personal Lifestyle Consultation V Pamela Gale Burlington, Vermont 8020864-0903 Gift Certificates/Sliding Fee Scale