Community Compass
Community Compass is a service of OITM. GLBT organizations from around the state are invited to provide brief — 200 words or less — descriptions of recent or upcoming activities and events. Send your submissions to us by email by the 15th of the month.
T.H.E.
Men's Art Show Success
On Friday, December 3, Brattleboro area Gallery
Walk denizens treated themselves to an extra gallery showing in record
numbers – the one-night-only Men@Art exhibit organized by T.H.E.
Men's Program. Five local artists from the gay/bisexual men's community
exhibited work in a variety of mediums, and the community enthusiastically
came out to view the show.
"We selected the first Friday in December
for our event specifically to coincide with Brattleboro's monthly Gallery
Walk event," stated Glenn Johnson, T.H.E. Men's Program Coordinator.
"We wanted to provide as much exposure as possible for our artists,
and raise the profile of our program. We were so pleased to see such a
broad representation from the community coming up to view the local gay
and bi men's artwork."
The five artists represented in the
show included John McBee, Perry Kroeger, Robert Shannon, Ken Nikolai,
and Austin Prentiss. The Community Room at the offices of the AIDS Project
of Southern Vermont, the parent organization of T.H.E. Men's Program,
was transformed for the night into an art gallery with the help of Dennis
Vincent, Interior Designer. The artists responded to a call for submissions
put out by the program starting in late summer. "This event took
a lot of planning," said Johnson, "but it was so worth it."
The popular event was conceived by
the Core Group, a group of volunteers from around Windham County who assist
T.H.E. Men's Program in organizing monthly community-building events.
Already conversations have begun to make the event a yearly occurrence.
For more information, contact Glenn Johnson
at
men@sover.net or 802-254-8263.
Discussion of the Month
HOTFlashes, the newsletter of T.H.E. Men's
Program, has begun a Question and Answer Forum. We are raising questions
from the men's community in each month's issue, then publishing answers
and discussion in the following month. For January, the topic is aging
in the gay/bi men's community. We hear a lot about ageism in the gay community,
and the constant focus on and obsession with youth. We'd love to start
a dialogue about this, and hear what men's experiences are with this issue.
Please respond to the following:
"How are you experiencing growing
older in the gay community? Do you feel the gay community is hopelessly
stuck on trying to 'stay young', or is this an outdated stereotype?"
And for guys who fall in that 'young men'
age range, however you define it, please send in your thoughts on this
topic, too.
Send responses or questions for the Q&A
Forum to eflash@sover.net
or HFQ&A, POB 1486, Brattleboro VT 05302.
Mountain Pride Media
Thanks to the help of dedicated and skilled
volunteers, Mountain Pride Media is able to publish this paper and its
related website, www.mountainpridemedia.org. For assisting with the stuffing
of the December issue, we extend warm thanks to: Joe and Joe, Bob and
Kate. We also thank our volunteer route drivers: Fran Moravcsik, Yelena,
Danny, Bennett Law, Tim, Keith Ribnick, Oliver, Keith Goslant, Patrick,
Amy, Liz, Rick, Cheri, Linn, Daryl, Cynthia, Kathy, Thom Fleury, Nat,
Lisa, and Rick Wold. Thank you! You make this possible!
A special welcome goes out to an anonymous
new volunteer who will take over management of our Calendar and eventually
also the Source pages. Welcome aboard! We also express our gratitude to
Randall Morey whose graphic design work has been seen in recent issues.
Thank you for the work you’ve given to the paper and the community
and good luck in your future endeavors.
Finally, we extend warm wishes to our stalwart
Rutland County delivery team "The Lindas" as one of them works
to recover from knee problems and the other assists in the recovery.
Organizing in Southern VT
The AIDS Project of Southern Vermont (APSV)
is working to support Windham County's LGBT community in the creation
of community spaces, functional and sustainable organizational capacity,
and common goals and objectives across identity boundaries. APSV is seeking
an independent contractor to 1) produce a regional conference on LGBT
community organizing, and 2) to recruit a number of local LGBT activists
to attend the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's Creating Change Conference,
for further networking and in-depth training. RESPONSIBILITIES: 1. Produce
a community organizing training for Windham County LGBT's in the Spring
of 2005. 2. Coordinate process for selecting applicants for the November
2005 Creating Change Conference. 3. Arrange travel, lodging, and reimbursement
logistics for Creating Change attendees
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES REQUIRED: 1. An independent contractor
with conference planning experience. 2. Sensitivity to and knowledge of
the local LGBT community. 3. The ability to multitask. This is a contracted
position for 145 hours of work starting in early 2005. Please send cover
letter, resume, and three references to: AIDS Project of Southern Vermont;
Attn: Susan Bell; PO Box 1486; Brattleboro, VT 05301
sbell@sover.net
SafeSpace & WRCC Training
The Women's Rape Crisis Center and SafeSpace
will be holding a volunteer training in Burlington beginning January 31st.
During this training, volunteers will learn how to be direct advocates
as well as develop skills to educate the community about issues of violence
and hate crimes.
WRCC is dedicated to ending all sexual
violence. We provide crisis counseling and advocacy for those whose lives
have been affected by sexual violence. We strive to change attitudes and
beliefs that perpetuate and condone the cycle of violence. We constantly
seek to expand our efforts to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse
community and welcome all to our agency. Support for our mission is actively
sought through fundraising, development, and the dedicated efforts of
our volunteers.
Safespace is a social change and social
service organization working to end physical, sexual, and emotional violence
in the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning
people. Our services include direct advocacy as well as education and
outreach into the wider community. As we proceed in our third year, SafeSpace
continues to rely upon the steady commitment and dedication of volunteers.
FMI, contact Jim Leahy, WRCC at 802-864-0555
or Connie Beal, SafeSpace at 802-863-0003. Volunteer and make a difference!