16 — OUT IN THE MOUNTAINS — Aucusr 1999 Carey Johnson: Stepping into the Big Picture BY CHRIS TEBBETTS “Excuse me everyone.” He’ll wait for the attention of the group. “Hi.” He’ll smile. The attention seems to make him both glad and self-conscious. 5“!3¢I|l3M 2 Iiuean Carey Johnson (right) is leaving the Brattleboro Area AIDS Project to pursue graduate studies. 1993, when he began working for BAAP. No large queer gath- ering with Carey in attendance seems complete without some mention from him about upcom- ing events or program innova- tions. His latest announcement? That he’s leaving this job and is a self-described “big picture person,” looking for systemic causes to oppression and lack of health, in all its forms. “One of my dreams,” he says, “is to expand the public health and human rights framework currently under construction to incorporate environmental photo Scot Applegate He is pictured here at the Leadership Summit held in 1998 at Goddard College. “I’m Carey Johnson, from the Gay and Bisexual Men’s Program at the Brattleboro Area AIDS Projec .” The wordy title falls off his tongue easily, and you can tell he’s used to doing this. “I just have a few announce- ments I’d like to make.” A few in the crowd who know him might groan in mock exas- peration. If nothing else, Carey has earned a reputation for his announcements. He’s been mak- ing them all over Vennont since ~.. Call I800-882-AIDS K J ii Vermont as well — at least for now. The Master of Science he’ll begin pursuing this fall at Harvard’s School of Public Health is a natural extension of the work he’s done here. In addi- tion to six years with the AIDS Project, he served energetically on the board of the Vermont Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights from 1993-1996. Besides making announce- ments along the way, he has been a proponent of positive social, political, spiritual, and environ- mental change at every turn. He Cheryl A. Gibson M.D. Susan F. Smith M.D. wounizficnoics GYNECOLOGIC ASSOCIATES issues, not simply from an envi- ronmental health perspective but from an environmental systems perspective....[For example,] how can environmentalists, pub- lic health ofiicials and human rights activists communicate with one another in such a way that shares and advances agen- das?” , - Johnson describes a relation- ship between his public support of .these agendas and his own personal out-ness in the commu- nity. He arrived in Vennont in 1991 from Alabama, by way of 3 Civil rights workers wanted for anti-discrimination efforts. Compensation provided. Call 864-3334 23 Mansfield Avenue Burlington, Vermont 05401 802-863-9001 Fax: 802-862-9637 New York City, where he had worked briefly with ACT-UP. “But, alas, homophobia is pemi- cious and persistent, and I didn’t really really come out of the closet until after I moved to Vennont...[and] began to volun- teer at the AIDS Project.” That volunteer experience led to a job as the agency’s first MSM (men who have sex with men) outreach educator, and eventually to the fully realized prevention program that exists today. Johnson has been present for the development of a spec- trum of community-based train- ings and support systems, includ- ing a widely distributed newslet- ter, the “H.O.T. for Life” (HIV/AIDS Outreach Team) pro- gram, and the newly developed Young Gay and Bisexual Men’s Program, to name a few. But to hear him tell it, it is relationships with people that really make the difference. Asked if he has words of advice for his replacement (Vic Hernandez, newlyiarrived from San Francisco), he doesn’t have to search for an answer. “The hardest thing is relationships. All the social activities, the newslet- ter, the planning — all that’s the infrastructure that supports the meaningful and interesting rela- tionships that are the heart of the work.” A favorite memory for him, he says, will be a recent goodbye party, .“being there and looking on the faces of these 30 guys and knowing that I’ve been involved in many of their lives and watched them grow as peo- ple in the world.” Carey’s personal affinities are as diverse as his programming. He cites such influences as pio- neering .AIDS researcher Jonathan Mann, BAAP’s execu- tive director, Susan Bell, Dr. Seuss, Martin Luther King, Jr., and most particularly, Richard, the man he “buddied” with when he first volunteered at BAAP. He was present for Richard’s death, and it was a transfonnative expe- rience. “It was touching to see this man who did not want to die, Michael Gigante, Ph.D. Psychosynthesis Counseling, Psychotherapy, 6! Consultation (802) 254-8032 15 Myrtle St., Brattleboro, VT 05301 email mgigante@together.net came from a big family, and died alone, except for me. Seeing this led me to want to resolve that sit- uation — this doesn’t have to hap- pen this way.” Since that time, Johnson’s experience of the epidemic and his understanding of prevention issues have increased exponen- tially. Progressive approaches have left behind the “just say no” model to make room for a much more complex series of factors. “How people see themselves, support they get from peers. skills they’ve been taught, or can acquire, contributing factors such as negotiation in relation- ships,” are some of things he has tried to respond to in his work. “As I learned more about it,” he says, “I saw it as a global issue, encompassing a whole series of realities. One thing that is fasci- nating about HIV is that it encompasses so much — political issues, social issues, economic issues. It’s a big picture epidem- ic for a big picture guy.” So off he sets; Mr. Johnson goes to Cambridge. Sad as he is to leave Vermont — and the many relationships his work has afforded him — behind, he remains optimistic. “One of my fears is leaving behind some- thing that’s been good to me. But I hope to take the skills and expe- riences and values that have been validated here wherever I go. I hope to take the spirit of Vermont with me. Vermont was the first place I’d ever been where I ever felt validated, in terms of what I felt inside — whether it was ‘we really don’t need another WalMart,’ or functioning as a fully integrated member of our community. And that’s very pre- cious.” Where this is all leading him is yet to be seen. "Carey looks for- ward to finding out himself - maybe a return to Vermont, maybe somewhere he hasn’t thought about yet. Either way, if history is any indication, we’ll know when he knows. Just wait for the announcement. V V 2 Church 5!, Burlington . sliding he sale 8 Feminist Therapy Leah Wiflenberg. Licensed Mental Health Counselor Psychotherapy for individuals and couples (802) 865-4568