The “fear factor” plays an important role in this case. What fears did each of the participants have, and how did these fears impact their decisions? If necessary, probe for the six men? Linda? Anita James? The community of Casper?

Question

As an employee of a private, nonprofit HIV/AIDS clinic in a rural North Carolina community, Linda Summerfield’s job was to provide direct services to people with HIV/AIDS as well as to connect them with resources. Aware of their needs, she also respected their need for confidentiality and anonymity in an area where issues surrounding HIV/AIDS were highly charged and prejudice was common. In 1999, Linda was also eager to help six men in her caseload who were struggling with uncertainty, loneliness, and isolation. Aware of their shared needs, she believed in the healing power of group work for such clients. Although initially reluctant, the six men agreed to “meet” via telephone and, despite their apprehension and some technical difficulties, after five weeks all agreed that the experience was helpful. But when meeting via telephone became unworkable, Linda faced decisions over whether and how or where to persuade the men to continue meeting.

Answer 1

As the six men said repeatedly, they feared for their safety and well-being because of the strong prejudice of many people in the region. Some of the men also feared losing employment while others feared rejection by family members and associates. Their fears contributed to their isolation, yet when they overcame their fears and joined together, they seemed to connect through the telephone group. Fears may have kept them from coming together in a face-to-face group meeting.
Initially, Linda feared that working with HIV/AIDS clients threatened her health and that of her husband and children. With knowledge about the disease, she put these concerns to rest. She desperately wanted to see the men continue relating to one another and feared that each man would return to his isolated existence, “his own small bundle” if this round of telephone meetings came to a close with no further meetings planned.
The incredible history of Daybreak involved a person who overcame many obstacles to provide a service. Anita James inherited that dream and was responsible for seeing that the agency continued serving and expanding. She may have feared criticism from the founder, Rodney, from the clients who would not have access to the office during lunch if Linda used the telephones, or by the community. Daybreak was always at risk financially due to the prejudice of the community. Myths about HIV/AIDS as a “homosexual disease” made it difficult for the agency to raise funds, so Anita had to live with an ongoing fear that the agency may have been closed due to lack of funding or community prejudice.
Many community members in Casper feared HIV/AIDS and perhaps contracting the disease. The men described Casper and its surrounding regions as homophobic, meaning “fearing homosexuality.” Some community members may have feared a loss of “the old ways” of the community, its cohesion, its safety, as a newly discovered disease such as HIV/AIDS came to their region. The community’s attempt to describe the disease in negative spiritual terms may communicate a deep spiritual fear of “evil.”