Out in the Mountains World AIDS Day Commemorated in Many Ways Red ribbon banners hung from the lamp-posts in Bennington. Twenty people braved the cold and wind to clutch candles on Middlebury’s town green and re- member those lost to the disease. And all around the state, churches and temples rang their bells sixteen times at 2 p.m. to commemorate the sixteen years which have passed since the AIDS pandemic began. On Sunday, December 1, obser- vances ofWorld AIDS Day here in Vermont tended toward the somber and reflective. At the Unitarian Universalist service in Burlington, people lined up to speak at an open microphone and recount how they had been affected by HIV and AIDS. “I was shocked by how many people got up to speak,” responded one attendant, an employee of the Vermont Department of Health. Elsewhere around the world, the red ribbon symbol flourished. In France, aerial acrobats poured red smoke out of their jet planes to create a 5,000-foot ribbon in the skies above Paris. In Germany, a casket traveled throughout Berlin’s subway system, with staged fu- neral proceedings at several stops. In South Africa, Table Mountain _ was lit by red spotlights to create a haunting sight above Cape Town. Here in the United States, many communities sponsored presenta- tions of panels from the NAMES Project Memorial AIDS Quilt. Candlelight vigils were also common in many major cities such as New York and San Francisco, which have been hardest hit by the epidemic. Lights at the White House and other national monuments were dimmed for fifteen minutes. Nearly 22 million people around the globe are currently infected with HIV, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Ofthe recorded cases, six million have died, with 25% ofthose deaths occurring in the past year alone. Those numbers are expected to rise, particularly among “third world” and developing nations, where condoms are as scarce as the drugs which can now manage many of the opportunistic infections associated with AIDS. Here in the United States, HIV rates of infec- tion continue to grow, particularly among women and people ofcolor. Though new medications have made great progress in prolonging the life expectancy of those infected, they have sparked new contro- versy in their availability and potentially lethal side effects. Many H1V+ people simply cannot afford the tens of thousands of dollars needed to enroll in “drug cocktail” therapies, and with recent cuts to Welfare and Medicaid, the gap between the “haves” and the “have— riots” will continue to grow. This, in turn, will lead to a greater rate of AIDS-related deaths among the economically disadvantaged. Around the nation, various chapters ofA_CT UP (the AIDS Coali- tion To Unleash Power) have been fighting often vicious battles against business and government policy-makers‘ who control both the price and the accessibility of HIV and AIDS medications. Clashes during protests have reached a fever pitch in San Francisco, where ads from local HIV/AIDS agencies in Bay Area newspapers have been calling for an end to protest—related violence. On the global political scene, the International Lesbian and Gay Association has called for the immediate decriminalization of sexual activity between consenting partners of the same sex. The group also strongly criticized the Vatican for helping the spread of the disease by way of the church’s opposition to the use and distribution of condoms. In the United States, well over half a million people have been reported as having AIDS. Over 320,000 of those individuals have died, according to reports from the Center for Disease Control and Preven- tion. Here in Vermont, nearly 300 people have been reported as hav- ing AIDS, with a great many more considered HIV+. Over half of those with AIDS have died from the virus. For more infonnation about HIV and AIDS, call the Vennont AIDS Hotline toll-free at (800) 882-2437. Individuals requiring hearing-im- paired assistance can contact the Hotline via the TTY line at (800) 319-3141. V I . 0/ Seafood and Steak Tavern LUDLOW'S PREMIERE DINNER HOUSE out 103 - Ludl, ebnt - 802-228-5622 Visit Our Web Page: http:/ /www.sover.net/ -seafoodl Y Vermont Area Resources Please help us keep this listing current by advising us of any changes in your group 's status or address. All phone numbers are area code 802 unless noted. Addison County Women in Crisis 53 Court Street -" Middlebury VT 05753 - 388-4205 Active Lesbians of the Monadnock Area (ALMA) PO Box 6345 - Keene NH 03431 - (603) 363-4961 Amelia Earhart PO Box 746 - Lebanon NH 03766 American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) 110 E. State St. - Montpelier VT 05602 - 223-6304 E-mail: acluvt@aol.com Battered Women’s Services, Inc. PO Box 828 - Montpelier VT 05601 24 hour Hotline: 223-6855 Brattleboro Area Gays and Lesbians PO Box 875 - Brattleboro VT 05302 - 254-5947 Brattleboro Area Lesbian Center 71 Elliot St. 0 Brattleboro VT 05301 Burlington Police Department Community Based Police Officer Lieutenant Bill LaWare - 658-7658 Burlington Women’s Council City Hall - Burlington VT 05401 - 865-7200 Chiltern Mountain Club - Vermont Chapter Bob Bland - 333-9448 - E-mail: bland@sover.net Christ Church Presbyterian-More Light Church UVM - Burlington VT 05401 - 862-1898 CRONES (for women over 40) PO Box 242 0 Winooski VT 05404 DaGLO (Dartmouth College) Hanover NH 03755 ~ (603) 646-3636 Dignity Vermont PO Box 782 - Burlington VT 05402 - 863-1377 East Coast Wrestling Club PO Box 40868 - Providence RI 02940 (401) 467-6737 ' ecwc@blockparty.com Friends in Adoption 44 South St. - PO Box 1228 ~ Middletown Springs VT 05757 - 235-2373 Gay Fathers’ Support Group PO Box 234 - Essex Junction VT 05423 ° 879-7883 Gay Info Line (NH) Box 181 - Concord NH 03301 - (603) 224-1686 Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Alliance Goddard College - Plainfield VT 05667 Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Alliance Landmark College - Putney VT 05346 ° 387-6752 Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Legal Association c/o Blackwood and Kraynak ' 863-2517 Gay/Lesbian/Straight Teachers’ Network (GLSTN) PO Box 930 - Amherst MA 01004-0930 Gay/Lesbian Victim Assistance Hotline (800)259-1536 - 24 hrs. a day - AVProject@aol.com Golden Threads (Lesbian Contact Publication) PO Box 65 - Riehford VT 05476-0065 - 848-7037 E-mail: go1dentred@aol.com Hear Us OUT PO Box 285 - Brattleboro VT 05302 - 257-0332 Huntington Open Women's Land (HOWL) 864-5595 Interweave (Unitarian Universalists) 152 Pearl Street - Burlington VT 05401 Kwanzaa , PO Box 583 - Burlington VT 05402-0583 Keene State College LBG Alliance Keene State College - Keene NH 03431 Lesbians United, Never Apart (LUNA) c/o Umbrella Women’s Center ' 1 Prospect Ave. - St. Johnsbury VT 05819 - 748-8645 Men’s Health Project PO Box 5248 - Elmwood Ave. - Burlington VT 05401 - 863-2437 Men Alive! PO Box 423 - Burlington VT 05402 - 865-2247 Middlebury GLB Alliance Middlebury College - Middlebury VT 05753-6033 Monadnock Gay Men (MGM) PO Box 1124 - Keene NH 03431 ° (603) 357-5544 Mountain Pride Media, Inc. PO Box 177 - Burlington VT 05402 NH Citizens’Alliance for Gay and Lesbian Rights PO Box 730 - Concord NH 03302 ' (603) 224-1686 NorthEast Queendom Lesbians Activating Community Empowerment (NEQLACE) c/o Umbrella Women’s Center - 1 Prospect Ave. 0 St. Johnsbury VT 05819 NorthEast Vermonters for Gay and Lesbian Rights c/o Umbrella Women’s Center - 1 Prospect Ave. - St. Iohnsbury VT 05819 - 748-8645 Old Lesbians Organized for Change (OLOC) PO Box 242 - Winooski VT 05404 One in Ten (Castleton State College) 468-5611 x.392 16 Out in the Mountains PO Box 177 - Burlington VT 05402 388-6503 ° oitm@aol.com Web Site: http://members.aol.corn/oitm/ Outright Vermont PO Box 5235 - Burlington VT 05402 - 865-9677 Youth Hotline: (800) 452-2428 E-mail: OutrightVT@ao1.com Web Site: http://members.aol.com/outrightvt/ Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (P-FLAG) Brattleboro Area I. Cram - 409 Hillsinds - Brattleboro VT 05301 257-5409 Central Vermont New contact to be announced. Lake Champlain Chapter Lil Venner - 23 Birchwood Lane - Burlington VT 05401 0 863-4285 Manchester A rea Mae and lay Morrow - PO Box 92 - Manchester VT 05254 - 362-4400 Rutland Area Julie and Peter Cooper - 11 North St. - Rutland VT 05701 - 773-7601 » — Peace and Justice Center 21 Church St. - Burlington VT 05401 - 863-8326 Radical Faeries RR2 Box 1640 - Plainfield VT 05667 - 454-1635 Radical Faerie Camp Destiny c/o Endora - RR 1 Box 30 - Bristol VT 05443 453-5760 Rainbow Business Association Contact Bill at 862-1570 or Sheila at 865-0469 SAGE (for gay men over forty) PO Box 863 - Burlington VT 05402 - 860-1810 Social Alternatives for Gay Men (SAM) PO Box 479 - Norwich VT 05055 - 649-3133 TRANS (Transgender Radical Action, Networking, and Support) PO Box 5687 - Burlington VT 05402 Umbrella Women’s Center 1 Prospect Ave. ° St. Johnsbury VT 05819 748-8645 University of Vermont GLBA 656-0699 Vermont Bisexual Network (BiNet) PO Box 8124 - Burlington VT 05402 658-9554 or 865-3062 Vermont Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights (VCLGR) PO Box 1125 - Montpelier VT 05602 - 454-8552 C0-liaisons to the government: Virginia Renfrew Keith Goslant ' 454-8552 Vermont Education Association Network of Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Educators and Their Allies Contact Rose-Marie at 442-3978 Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force PO Box 1312 - Middlebury VT 05753 - 388-6356 Vermont GLBT Pride PO Box 5113 - Burlington VT 05402 865-3734 or 658-1602 Vermont Gay Men’s Spiritual Support Brotherhood 5 Raymond Pl. 0 Burlington VT 05401 - 863-9684 Vermont Gay Social Alternatives (VGSA) PO Box 237 - Burlington VT 05402-0237 865-3734 Vermont Human Rights Commission 133 State St. - Montpelier VT 05633-6301 828-2480 Vermont Lesbian and Gay Parents 131 Richardson St. - Burlington VT 05401 860-1922 Visible in Vermont Arts (VIVA) PO Box 812 - Burlington VT 05402 - 863-2307 Woman Center A 5 School Ave. - Montpelier VT 05602 - 229-6202 Women’s Crisis Center PO Box 933 - Brattleboro VT 05302 ' 257-7364 24 Hour Hotline: 254-6954 Women Helping Battered Women PO Box 1535 - Burlington VT 05402 0 658-1996 Women’s Information Service (WISE) 79 Hanover St. - Lebanon NH 03766 (603) 448-5922 - 24 Hour Hotline: (603) 448-5525 Women’s Rape Crisis Center 2 PO Box 92 - Burlington VT 05402 - 864-0555 Women of the Woods (WOW) RFD 1 Box 5260 - Worcester VT 05682 0 229-0109 Youth Aware of Addison County c/o PO Box 646 0 Middlebury VT 05753 (800) 452-2428 (Outright Vermont)