MARK E. RONDEAU, Staff Writer

Friday, January 16

BENNINGTON — The Bennington Free Clinic began seeing patients Thursday, the day after a gala opening ceremony attended by about 200 people. The clinic is located in the Nichols Education Building of the First Baptist Church, at 601 Main St. It currently consists of one examining room and supporting areas on the ground floor. The clinic officially opened Wednesday with a celebration featuring chamber music, comedy by Rabbi Bob Alper of Manchester, speakers and a toast and ribbon cutting.

"This is a very difficult time for so many people, but at the same time it's also a time of hope, because of some of the people in this room who have helped make this clinic a reality," said Charlie Gingo, Bennington County field director of the Vermont Agency of Human Services. "You are a beacon of hope."

The idea originated with Dr. Richard Dundas, an internist who has practiced medicine in Bennington for 35 years. The not-for-profit free clinic is a program of The Bennington Interfaith Community Services Inc., an entity of the Greater Bennington Interfaith Council. Dundas is the clinic's medical director, and was set to see six patients on Thursday.

The clinic will provide free primary health care, referral, care management and wellness education to uninsured adult residents of Bennington County and the surrounding area who are within 250 percent of the federal poverty level. The clinic will be open on Thursday evenings from 6 to 9 p.m. Clinic hours will be changed periodically to meet the needs of patients.

The local medical community has donated medical equipment for the clinic. Plans are already underway to renovate more space for the clinic across the hall from the examining room. Dundas said 40 local doctors have volunteered to help out at the clinic on a case-by-case basis: "I don't know of any other town where half of the medical staff in the community would volunteer to work in a free clinic, so I really applaud our doctors here."

"In addition to that we have numerous nurses, social workers, psychologists — many, many people from all walks of life in medicine who have volunteered to help," he said. "And we have a large number of non-medical people as well who will help us with the running of the clinic."

One in every six adults between the ages of 18 and 64 in Bennington County — more than 3,500 people — do not have any health insurance. Some 89 percent of county residents without health insurance live in working families; more than 50 percent work full-time and year-round, according to clinic literature.

Volunteer intake staff at the clinic will screen patients for eligibility for state medical insurance programs including Medicaid, Catamount Health Care and the Vermont Health Access Plan, and will assist them with applications as needed.

Clergy from faith communities of the Greater Bennington Interfaith Council are available on a rotating basis to provide pastoral care. Dundas said the idea for a free clinic had been stalled until he started discussing it with Sue Andrews, who is coordinator of the Interfaith Council's Food and Fuel Fund, also part of the Bennington Interfaith Community Services Inc. "I floundered around for several months before Sue decided to help us out," he said. Andrews, who is now also coordinator for the clinic, brought the idea to the Interfaith Council last year.

"Several months ago, now, we began a dream that was fascinating, engaging and somewhat, almost scary," said the Rev. Jerrod Hugenot of the idea for a free clinic. He is coordinating minister at First Baptist and hosted the celebration. "Could the Interfaith Council rethink itself and do more?"

"I give thanks for Dr. Dundas and his witness and his dedication as a medical provider," Hugenot said.

The clinic is affiliated with the Vermont Coalition of Clinics for the Uninsured, which has nine free clinics throughout the state. The Bennington clinic is now the 10th, and it will get operating funds from the state through VCCU. The clinic is also affiliated with the group Volunteers in Medicine, based in South Carolina. The Bennington clinic has already received several grant awards, private donations and is seeking donations from community members.

Dundas, who received a standing ovation at the opening celebration, said that despite what he's read and heard, it wasn't his dream to open a free clinic in Bennington.

"To the contrary, it has been my dream that I would never have to open a free clinic, because we would all have health insurance," he said. "Essentially, we all felt obligated — all of us involved — because our nation, its people and its government, can't get health care right."

In the U.S., some 45 million people do not have health insurance, Dundas said. "We know these citizens are people that delay their care because they can't afford care, and sometimes the delay is harmful. We need to change our system," he said. "So until we citizens and our government smarten up, we will be here to try to help the uninsured. It's a community thing that needs to be done, and we are going to try to do it."

Those eligible for care at the Free Clinic do not have health insurance; have catastrophic-only health insurance that does not pay for preventative or primary care; and meet the clinic's income guidelines.

For more information, call 802-447-3700. Appointments are preferred. Walk-ins will be seen as time permits. The clinic's e-mail address is bennfreeclinic@gmail.com.

Tours of the clinic and volunteer opportunities will be offered throughout the evening. Operations for the clinic will begin the following evening, Thursday, Jan. 15.

The Bennington Free Health Clinic represents the realization of a longtime dream of Dr. Richard Dundas, an internist with 34 years of service treating Bennington-area patients. Along with the Greater Bennington Area Interfaith Council, Dundas has created a free health clinic that will offer care and consultation for uninsured adults.

Guests invited to the Jan. 14 celebration include Governor James Douglas, state legislators, local area officials, and the clergy and lay representatives of the Bennington Interfaith Council. At 6 p.m., formal remarks will be offered by visiting dignitaries as well as by Dundas, who will be the clinic's medical director, and Rabbi Joshua Boettiger, chairman of the Greater Bennington Interfaith Community Services Inc.

At least 40 area medical professionals have come forth as willing to donate their time to the Bennington Free Health Clinic. A number of lay people will also be volunteering

their time to assist with other operational needs. Sue Andrews, manager of the Interfaith Council's community services, is the coordinator of the clinic's administrative work. The Bennington Free Clinic is affiliated with the Vermont Coalition of Clinics for the Uninsured and Volunteers in Medicine.

As part of its historic service to the community, he Greater Bennington Area Interfaith Council has accepted the challenge to partner with the Free Health Clinic. In late 2008, the council voted to amend the bylaws of their 501(c)3 organization, long known as "The Food & Fuel Fund," to continue the critical work of providing funds for area residents with housing, fuel, or food needs, while expanding the mission and governance of the non-profit to include new initiatives such as the Free Health Clinic. The Greater Bennington Interfaith Community Services Inc. will now serve as the 501(c)3 organization's title, reflecting the council's shift from benevolence work to a wider, more grassroots, approach to addressing vital community needs.

To learn more about the clinic or to volunteer your time and talents, call 447-3700 or write to The Bennington Free Clinic, 601 Main St., P.O. Box 702, Bennington, VT 05201. The Greater Bennington Interfaith Community Services Inc., is a registered 501(c)3 charitable non-profit organization. Donations in support of the new clinic are welcome via the address above.

To request an appointment, call 802-447-3700. Advance appointments are preferred, but walk-ins will be seen as staff are able to accommodate.

MARK E. RONDEAU, Staff Writer

BENNINGTON - A free medical clinic will be opening in mid-January at the First Baptist Church building on Main Street.

The clinic will open by mid-January. Sue Andrews, manager of the Interfaith Council's Food and Fuel Fund, said that she and Dr. Richard Dundas, a longtime local physician who is retiring, began discussing the idea early this year.

The Interfaith Council voted in June to support and advance the concept.

The free clinic fits with First Baptist's desire to make full use of its sizable Main Street facility, which was built in 1965, when church membership was much larger, according to the Rev. Jerrod Hugenot, interim intentional minister at First Baptist. "When they were looking for facility space, they knew First Baptist was hoping to refurbish some of its space for community betterment," he said.

The clinic is intended to serve those without health insurance, an estimated 3,500 adults ages 18 to 64 in Bennington County. Children under 18 are covered by the state, and poor adults are covered by Medicaid.

However, those who fall into the category of the working poor - many ironically working in the health care field - cannot afford health insurance. Others may work part time or work for small employers who cannot afford to offer employees heath insurance. Even some of those who are not below the poverty level may not be able to buy into health insurance, Andrews said.  A benefit of the Main Street location is that many potential clients of the free clinic do not have vehicles and may be able to walk to the site.

To date, 28 local physicians have expressed interest in volunteering for the free clinic in some capacity, she said. As yet, Andrews has no official title with the clinic, describing herself jokingly as "chief cook and bottle washer."

She said that the intent is to show clients "radical hospitality," so in addition to taking care of health needs, the intent is to sign them up for aid programs they may not know they are eligible for, such as food stamps.

The not-for-profit clinic already is having success raising funds, with grants approved from the Ben & Jerry's Foundation, the Stratton Foundation and the Merchant's Bank Foundation. Other grants will be forthcoming, Andrews said. Donations from the public are also welcome, she added.

A missional vision

According to officials at First Baptist, the congregation has been looking at ways to make itself relevant to the times and use its large facility for community betterment. "Baptists are mission-minded people," Hugenot said. "It's just now we're realizing that the mission field is our backyard, not just far, far away."

The First Baptist facility is connected to the church and is formally known as the Nichols Christian Education Building.   "I think the vision of this was when they built the addition was 300 in church and 200 in Sunday school," Hugenot said while showing this reporter the building. "And that was the euphoria of mid-20th Century mainline Protestant Christendom. It's not to browbeat anybody, it was just nobody got the memo that within 10 years the decline would be on its way."  Today the congregation has 40 to 50 adult members and up to a dozen younger members, he said. Most of the space in the building is not used by the congregation. 

Discerning the church's mission in recent years, congregation members have quietly been taking steps to make the building more accessible and to reach out to the community. In addition to the room on the first floor being renovated for the free clinic exam room, the church has recently added an accessible bathroom and a lift making the second floor accessible to people with disabilities. A contract has been let out to install a new fire alarm system in the building over the winter.

Beyond this, the church has rented space out on the second floor to PAVE's Family Time program, which now meets there. Much additional space is available to be rented to other non-profits. The church will make no profit on the rentals and hopes to offer the spaces at below-market rates.   "What we're looking for here is long-term, sustainable use of the building that creates a kind of non-profit-friendly environment where folks can really flourish here, and the congregation can meet its basic needs to serve the community in a creative fashion," Hugenot said.

Another budding effort at the church is a sewing program started by a member of the congregation teaching low-income people sewing skills.

The church has long hosted two active AA groups and regularly hosted visits by the Red Cross Blood Mobile.

Greg Lewis, the church's moderator, said that between the time when the previous pastor left and the congregation hired Hugenot, church members took a vote to see what route it would take. They could either keep with the status quo or change to an outward-looking congregation. "So we decided to take the lead and become transformed," he said. "We're definitely moving forward, and it's become a missional church."

Wayne Kachmar is an engineer, businessman and a member of the church's trustee board. He has worked with other church members to produce a business plan for the building. "You've got to be realistic," he said. "You've got to think hard about how to do this." Though at times the building has been seen as a yoke around the congregation's neck, it has several things going for it. One is its location on Main Street; another is that it is made of concrete blocks - solid. Now, PAVE and the free clinic amount in a sense to "anchor stores in a charity mall," with the significant benefits for them of relatively low operations costs and easy access in the downtown.  

BENNINGTON — Members of the local interfaith community organization want to raise consciousness of, and funds to alleviate, the critical needs some people are facing at a time when fuel and food costs have risen sharply. During this weekend, clergy and laypeople in the Greater Bennington Area Interfaith Council will be speaking to their congregations about local needs and the council's Emergency Food and Fuel Fund.

How can my household….

….stay warm with the rising fuel prices

….make rent (even with full-time employment)

….buy clothes for “back to school”

….deal with a sudden crisis (job loss, unexpected bills)

How do we help our neighbors in need?

During the weekend of September 6-7, 2008, the member faith communities of the Greater Bennington Area Interfaith Council gather for worship and affirm our common commitment to interfaith work and witness in the Bennington area. As part of this special emphasis, we affirm the most well-known aspect of our cooperative work: The Emergency Food and Fuel Fund.

In the midst of a fuel crisis in the 1970s, religious groups in Bennington created a fund to help people in need. Over the years, the diverse faith communities of the local interfaith council have worked together to address these needs. Now in another period of economic challenge, the Interfaith Council calls upon the community to give to the Food and Fuel Fund, so that persons stay warm this winter, have food on the table, and find help when the Fund is able to provide assistance for a sudden financial crunch that challenges a household’s ability to make rent this month.

Please consider giving this year to the Food and Fuel Fund through a tax deductible donation to our 501(c)3 organization. With the $50,000+ we raise each year, persons in crisis receive help, advocacy, and support to meet their needs. As good stewards of your financial support, we provide a part-time Food & Fuel Fund director, who coordinates with area service agencies to strengthen the web of support for individuals and families in crisis.

Religious convictions among us differ, but our faiths find common ground when addressing the issue of the social and economic challenges of Bennington, Vermont. Join us in the effort to spread hope where there is despair, joy where there is sorrow, and justice where there is adversity to be overcome.

Send donations via your faith community or to the mailing address:
Food and Fuel Fund,

c/o Congregation Beth El

107 Adams St, Bennington, VT 05201

Your desire to help begins a multitude of goodness!  Remember to help others as we weather the economic issues in front of us!

As the interim manger of the Bennington Interfaith Council Food and Fuel Fund I start each day faced by a paradox. I am a citizen of the richest nation on earth but part of my day will be spent in conversation with local residents who struggle to set priorities as they consider whether to pay their light bill or their rent or how to put food on the table.

I drink my early morning cup of tea as I listen to the news on the radio. There is always talk about our economy, which is considered healthy by many different measures, despite the fact that growth is not as robust as it might be. “What happens to the outcome of that economic growth”, I wonder? To whom do the benefits accrue and how do they trickle down into our economy? Discussions about President Bush’s veto of the child health insurance bill intermingle in my head with dialogue about the pros and cons of tax cuts, and concern about the stability of the stock market. A bigger concern to me by far than the rate of economic growth in our society is the impact of the inequitable distribution of that growth.

Managing the Food and Fuel Fund has pointed out all too clearly to me that our society has devolved into several economic sub-cultures in recent years. The first group is prospering and producing in this new information age, and coping well with new economic challenges. In the Bennington area, we see all too few examples of this success.

Declining incomes and the outcomes of global economic competition is squeezing the second group, those formerly referred to as the “middle-class”. Members of this group worry about their jobs and whether they will be there in the future. They worry about health insurance, and whether they will be able to afford the rising premiums. They worry about college and whether it will ever be a reality for their children. All it takes for members of this group to stumble and have their world crash around them is a single unanticipated financial crisis… the loss of a job, an unexpected surgery, or a failed furnace.

A third group is growing ever more discouraged and despairing. Increasingly referred to as the American underclass, their children are growing up desperately poor in the richest nation on earth. Their question at the end of the month is whether they can afford the rent or groceries or heat or electricity. In Bennington, many of these people and their families get by on less than $1000 per month. And I say “get by” intentionally, as the quality of life is grim at best.

I talk to people in these last two groups every single day. Many are just an unpaid utility bill away from being homeless. They are frightened. They have often never heard of the Food and Fuel Fund until referred there by the local churches or social service agencies. They call in absolute desperation, hoping that some small miracle will get them through the month. And frequently, we can and do help out. Just today we have given out vouchers for food and gasoline to ten people. In addition, we have paid an electric bill, a past due rent bill, and an overdue mortgage payment. We have referred people to the local food pantries, as well as three different social service agencies that may be able to provide more systematic assistance. And we have provided clothing to a former inmate now searching for a job.

Last year, the Food and Fuel Fund distributed almost $60,000 worth of help to people in the Bennington region. Much of the money came from local donations that ranged from $10 to $100. Local faith congregations, two small grants, and a variety of benefit events rounded out the income side of the budget.

Are we our brothers’ keepers? In the beginning of the Jewish Scriptures, after Cain has killed his brother Abel, God
comes looking for Abel. God says to Cain “Where is your brother?” And Cain asks a question that should be a key question for all humanity, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

In almost every faith tradition, there is reference to the concept of caring for others, or being our brothers’ keepers. In Judaism, there is the concept of “tikun olam”, or repairing the world, from a social justice perspective. Christians are reminded that at the end of life they will be asked “what did you do for the least of your brothers and sisters?’ In Islam the concept of “sakat” demands that faithful Muslims give of their resources to help the poor. In Buddhism, compassion for all God’s creation is central.

I would like to urge everyone to think about their brothers and sisters in our own, local community who might be going through hard times and contribute to the efforts of the Food and Fuel Fund. Direct contributions can be mailed to FFF, 107 Adams Street, Bennington, Vermont 05201.

Remember, we are all our brothers’ keepers. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. You may one day be the person who is in need of help.

Coverage of this event is featured at the website of the Bennington Banner (www.benningtonbanner.com) for the next 14 days (through May 21, 2007).  You can learn more about Congregation Beth El at their website:  www.cbevermont.org.