AIDS agency marks 15th anniversary, moves to new office

BANGOR – Denis Cranson didn’t plan to work in the same field for 12 years. In 1990, when he joined the agency he now heads, he was sure he’d be looking for work in five years – seven at the outside.

He didn’t know a dozen years ago that a cure for the disease called AIDS would be so elusive. Cranson believed then that a positive HIV test would continue to be a death sentence until a vaccine was developed and the deadly virus was eradicated – the way it was for polio.

“I thought and hoped that someday we’d shut our doors and have a yard sale,” Cranson said recently.

The executive director of the Eastern Maine AIDS Network couldn’t have been more wrong. Not only is the agency still serving clients in Penobscot, Piscataquis and Aroostook counties, but this month it marked its 15th anniversary by moving to a new and larger office to better serve its clients and the community.

Located in the Intown Plaza at 370 Harlow St. in Bangor, the former karate studio was rebuilt to EMAN’s specifications. The move doubled the agency’s space, allowing for greater client confidentiality as well more space for the agency’s food pantry, board and staff meetings, community education and outreach.

“Our lease in the Fleet Bank building was up August 30 and we knew we had to expand space-wise,” said Cranson. “We’ve added staff and started new programs over the years. The new space was designed to our specifications, and the layout is ideal for our needs over the next three to five years.”

Over the years, the agency has evolved to meet the changing needs of its clients as new treatments for HIV and AIDS have been developed. In 1987, being diagnosed HIV-positive was usually a death sentence, according to Cranson.

In the late 1980s and early ’90s, EMAN’s staff helped clients prepare to die. There were only three drugs – AZT, DDI and DDC – available to treat AIDS, according to Cranson. They were highly toxic, and not really effective. Fifteen years ago, 100,000 people were diagnosed HIV-positive each year.

“We used to help people prepare for their final exit, take people to the doctor, and make amends with their families,” he said.

The development of protease inhibitors over the past five years has made the disease a manageable chronic illness for many people. While the new infection rate fell to 40,000 per year a few years ago, it has stalled there, explained Cranson, despite efforts to educate the public and at-risk groups.

The first few years the agency was in operation, it served between 12 and 15 clients, and all but two them were men. Today EMAN serves 65 families who have at least one HIV-positive member. Some 40 percent of its clients are women, most with children.

The agency also is seeing more people with multiple illnesses – including mental illnesses, such as hepatitis C, alcoholism and drug addiction. The number of clients who are homeless has also increased.

“HIV and AIDS used to be thought of as a gay disease, but that is a myth. This never was a gay disease,” declared Cranson.

Because so many cases of HIV stem from sharing infected needles, EMAN started a needle exchange program. Clean needles are exchanged for ones that have been used.

Cranson said now he fears that the recent growth in injecting OxyContin eventually will increase the number of clients seeking EMAN’s services.

He added that the development of new drugs has made people less cautious about protecting themselves. Cranson emphasized that HIV and AIDS are a “very expensive disease,” with the medications alone costing between $12,000 and $15,000 per year.

“People are less cautious because they believe it’s a manageable disease now,” he said. “But the quality of life is not the same. The medications can be toxic. Some people can’t work or care for their children due to the side effects.”

That is why EMAN has put so much emphasis on education and outreach in recent years. The agency sponsors Outright, a support group for youth under the age of 22 in high-risk groups, and the peer education group Students for AIDS Facts, Education and Resources – SAFER – in area high schools.

EMAN also has branched out into producing videos. It released “Hope for New Tomorrow: Families with AIDS, the Third Decade” last year and plans to release a video aimed at teenagers this fall.

Some things, however, have not changed over the years. Securing enough funding to meet client and educational needs continues to be a challenge. EMAN receives state and federal funding, is designated a United Way partnership agency and also receives private grants. Cranson praised the community for its generous support of EMAN over the past 15 years.

From his new office, the executive director reflected on the how HIV and AIDS, along with the public’s perception of them, have changed over the years.

“I never thought we’d be here now,” said Cranson. “I thought the issue would go away – but we’re needed now more than ever.”

Eastern Maine AIDS Network will hold an open house at its new offices 1-4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, at the Intown Plaza, 370 Harlow St., Bangor. For more information, call 990-3626.