operational, marks the first major accomplishment for the Allan Vincent Smith Foundation, formed at the end of last year to educate the public about all aspects of the disease.

The first group of 22 volunteers has just completed an intensive training course, designed to deal with just about every conceivable question that people may have regarding AIDS.

At the moment the Helpline operates from Monday through Friday from 5.30 p.m.

to 9 p.m.

"We need this service in Bermuda so that people have somewhere to turn. Based on the experiences of helplines that have been set up overseas, we expect to be answering questions that range from the merely curious, to people who think they may be HIV positive, or someone trying to deal with the grief of losing a loved one,'' says Foundation director, Mr. Joe Gibbons.

He emphasises the importance of getting the message across that help is available: "It's no use having a Helpline unless people are aware that it's there to be used. So we are advertising in The Royal Gazette , and with spot ads on the radio. We are also listed in the blue pages of the Telephone Book, under Physical Illness.'' Some people, such as children involved in a school project or someone who has to give a talk to a group of students or a club, may wish to call the Helpline service to obtain accurate and up to date information on HIV and AIDS.

Volunteers are being asked to keep a log sheet of each call, from which the Foundation can gauge the sort of help that is generally needed in Bermuda.

"We are not interested in names or numbers,'' says Mr. Gibbons, "and everyone has been very strictly trained to keep this information to themselves, but we do need statistics on the sort of people who call and what their concerns are. This information is important, because it will help us find out if we need to be placing more emphasis on women issues, or childrens' concerns,'' he explains.

Mr. Gibbons says that this procedure is in line with the Terrence Higgins Trust in England, on which the Allen Vincent Smith Foundation is loosely based.

"Their annual report sets out the ratios of different calls received -- those from gays, or women, or whatever. Every Foundation project has to be accountable for its own funding and budget, so we have to know how the Helpline is being used and by which groups of people so that we can concentrate our efforts in the right direction.'' The Helpline, which has received about 75 percent of its funding from Sandys Rotary AIDS Education Fund, will give detailed information and assistance to callers who can rest assured that their conversation is absolutely confidential.

Intensive training has been given to the volunteers who, before they are allowed to "go live'', have been coached in dealing with any situation that may arise, by means of role-playing and "dry runs''.

They are made aware that most questions may not relate directly to AIDS, but to peripheral problems, such as finance, coping with bereavement or dealing with the stigma of AIDS.

For, more than a decade after AIDS became a fact of Bermuda life, the Island still appears to be woefully ignorant about most aspects of the disease, a fact that rather depresses another Foundation director, Mr. Mark Thomas.

"When the Foundation was formed, Board members got phone calls from people wanting to know what their personal involvement was with AIDS,'' he says.

Two of the 22 volunteers (all of whom were carefully vetted by the Foundation's Helpline committee for suitability) have similar stories.

Mr. Bill McNiven says he was told people would think he was a homosexual, just because he was helping. Mrs. Hannah Maryam says: "One person was convinced that the reason I had volunteered was because someone in my family had AIDS.'' Mr. McNiven, a happily married Bermudian, admits he was completely ignorant about AIDS and wanted to learn more. He says: "I wanted to do some kind of community service and when I was asked if I could help by manning the Helpline, it seemed the obvious thing to do.'' So far, he says, he has never met anyone with AIDS, "at least, as far as I know! You don't know who has AIDS by looking at them. I am very concerned with the youth of Bermuda, who don't seem to be getting the message about the dangers of unprotected sex.'' Mrs. Maryam agrees, adding that young people, especially, seem to believe in their own immortality, an attitude not helped, she believes, by the male `macho' image and the casual acceptance of sexual promiscuity that still prevails in Bermuda.

She became involved in the Helpline because she has lost friends to AIDS.

"I've always wanted to be involved but found it very difficult, on an emotional level, to deal on a one-to-one basis with people with AIDS. It's easier for me to help these people in a less stressful way, but to still feel I am helping them,'' she says.

Another misconception that Mr. Thomas is anxious to dispel is that the activities of the Foundation (including the Helpline) undermines, in any way, the work of STAR or any other organisation engaged in the fight against AIDS.

"STAR is focused on direct counselling and support, while the Allan Vincent Smith Foundation is primarily concerned with education. All of our manuals (and we have a steady supply of new literature coming in every month) will be shared with Agape House, STAR and the Health Department. There is certainly no competition: we are all working together to a common end.'' The new AIDS Helpline is 295-0002.

ON LINE -- The AIDS Helpline is now operational, offering information and advice on AIDS-related issues. Pictured are (left to right) -- Mr. Marc Thomas, a director of the Allan Vincent Smith Foundation, and volunteers Mr.

Bill McNiven and Mrs. Hannah Maryam.