About Us
Our Model: Wrap-around services that support sustained health
Providing access to care through comprehensive services supports individuals in adhering to critical HIV medication, thus lowering HIV viral load. Sustained viral load suppression reduces the risk of transmitting HIV and contributes to lasting health and wellness. Our risk-reduction, education, and HIV testing services provide the community with the tools that best meet individualized needs in preventing HIV infection.
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Empowering and supporting people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS in Maine through integrative care, education, advocacy, and prevention services.
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Through continued innovation and a dedicated client-centered approach, we envision an end to HIV transmission and AIDS-related deaths.
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Frannie Peabody Center is driven by our extensive history of client-centered services and support for people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS, co-occurring conditions, and barriers to care. Frannie Peabody Center fosters compassion, resilience, courage, transparency, inclusiveness, collaboration, and innovation, while remaining steadfast in our goals of supporting sustained health for our clients and the community as a whole.
Who We Serve
Frannie Peabody Center clients face a diverse set of challenges and come from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds. Clients range in age from a few years to over seventy, and represent several different races, ethnicities, and countries of origin.
Frannie Peabody Center serves over 400 people living with HIV/AIDS annually:
60% live below the Federal Poverty Line
35% are survivors of domestic violence
33% have a history of or are currently unhoused
75% are facing substance use and/or mental health issues
A History Rooted by Compassion
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Dedicated members of the community respond to an urgent need for support and care for people affected by HIV/AIDS. Portland’s The AIDS Project is established to provide support and navigation amidst scarce resources.
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Frannie Peabody establishes Peabody House, a hospice care facility for people in the late stage of AIDS. Peabody House opened its doors on Valentine’s Day in 1995 and provided warm and welcoming spaces and a residence free from stigma and discrimination.
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Following Frannie’s passing at the age of 98, Peabody House and The AIDS Project merge to become Frannie Peabody Center, providing comprehensive HIV prevention and care services.
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With the advancement of life-saving medications, people were surviving with HIV, and housing needs for people living with HIV had evolved from hospice care to maintaining stable, long-term housing. Frannie Peabody Center’s strategic planning process leads to the decision to close Peabody House and continues to serve as the statewide administrator of HOPWA (Housing Opportunities for Persons with HIV/AIDS) through the US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development.
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Frannie Peabody Center offers HIV testing, prevention navigation, HIV case management, housing assistance, and peer support.
Through integrated care, advocacy and partnerships, our work focuses on preventing HIV transmission and supporting the long-term health of people living with HIV/AIDS in Maine.
LEADERSHIP
Board of Directors
Caitlin Eldridge, MSW, President, she/her
Peter Mandly, Vice President, he/him
Michael McDonald, Treasurer, he/him
Paul Andrews, Secretary, he/him
Patrick Afthim, he/him
Justin Burkhardt, he/him
Sue Driscoll, LNSW, LSW, she/her
Lauren Gauthier, MPH, she/her
Molly Gilligan, Esq. she/her
KJ Gormley, OMS-II, they/them
Theo Greene, PhD, he/him
Matthew Hanly, he/him
Caroline Jackson, she/her
Sarah Lewis, MBA, she/her
Deborah Shields, JD, MPH she/her
Chloe Swerdlow, she/her
Tiffany Townsend, NP, AAHIVS, she/her
In Memoriam Timothy D. Stein, Esq. he/him
Executive Staff
Katie Rutherford, she/her
Executive Director
krutherford[at]peabodycenter.org
Lorena Delcourt, she/her
Finance Director
ldelcourt[at]peabodycenter.org
Celine Burrows, she/her
Director of Development and Community Engagement
cburrows[at]peabodycenter.org
Charlotte Rogers, LCSW, she/her
Director of Client Services and Impact
crogers[at]peabodycenter.org
OUR FUNDING
Frannie Peabody Center is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Our programs receive funding from various sources, including: the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development’s Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS program (HOPWA), Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention, Maine Office of MaineCare Services, United Way of Southern Maine, as well as other private foundations and donors.
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provides financial support for the provision of Ryan White Part B Case Management Services. The award provided 88% of total costs and totaled $289,979 (calendar year 2024). The contents of this website is provided by Frannie Peabody Center. They may not reflect the policies of HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
FPC is committed to the ongoing process of evaluating our services to ensure our programs are empowering, uplifting, and centering clients. We are guided by an awareness that the individuals we serve have a wide array of life experiences and backgrounds, and every person faces a unique set of challenges on a path toward health stability.
FPC denounces any form of discrimination as it inhibits access to care and threatens the dignity of those we serve. We will continue to work with community partners, advocates, clients, funders and vendors to strengthen our programs through this lens, ensuring our services support the health and well-being of our clients and the whole community.