Jeanie Forrest, 2017

File — Box: 3, Folder: 6

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Jeanie Forrest mostly grew up in the West. She went to high school in Laramie, Wyoming. During college, Forrest married a cattle rancher and moved to Montana. She describes her life living on a cattle ranch and talks about her first experience of HIV/AIDS there. Two men that her husband knew moved home to Montana after they were diagnosed. The community’s treatment of these two men was one of the reasons Forrest decided she wanted to leave the ranch. She and her husband divorced and moved to Salt Lake City with their kids. Forrest decided to see if anyone was doing anything about HIV/AIDS in Salt Lake City. She found a number for an HIV/AIDS hotline and called it to volunteer. The number was for the Utah AIDS Foundation. Her first job was to go to gay bars with another volunteer and invite gay men to go to educational groups that would teach them about safety and prevention. Forrest continued to work for the Utah AIDS Foundation until she moved to New York City to go back to school. She worked as a buddy in the buddy program, becoming friends with and taking care of many men who were dying of AIDS. Forest also talks about the Utah AIDS Foundation and the prejudice and intolerance they faced from parts of the Utah community.
Interviewed by Elizabeth Clement.

Dates

2017

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.