Location: The United Churches, 110 11th Avenue SE in Olympia

In recognition of National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, women and girls over 13 years old are invited to a day of free community education about HIV/AIDS and related health concerns.

Workshops will be provided by local organizations including: Partners in Prevention Education, The BABES Network, The Northwest Microbicide Coalition, Safeplace, Stonewall Youth, Planned Parenthood and the Thurston County Health Department.

FREE Lunch, Door Prizes, Childcare, and HIV Testing will be provided!

Contact UCAN to pre-register for the conference or for childcare. On-site registration will also be available from 10:30 –11:00am on March 15th. Call (360) 352-2375, E-mail kathy@ucan-wa.org, or visit our website at www.ucan-wa.org

-info from .pdf anouncement at UCAN (United Communities AIDS Network)-

Stonewall Youth, in partnership with Partners in Prevention Education (PiPE), is pleased to present Heal Your Y Art Therapy, the first of several series of groups for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex (lgbtqi) youth ages 14-21. This project is funded through a two-year grant from the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) to provide free group sessions for lgbtqi youth who have been subjected to crime such as homelessness, assault, hate crimes, bullying, harassment, abuse, or vandals. Youth are not required to report the crime in order to receive access to these services.

Art therapy combines art with counseling and is co-facilitated by mental health counselor, Teresa Guajardo, and art student, Tim Carbary. Youth involved with this project will be given the opportunity to heal with others who have also been subject to scarring. Each series will help youth work through the emotional and physical impact of victimization such as grief, loss, anger, isolation, and fear. There will be an emphasis on health, healing, and safety. Participants will be given the opportunity to display their Queer Art Heal Your Y artwork at local venues and events, thus creating further opportunities to be seen and heal. Individual mental health counseling is available when needed and at no charge to youth. Some art therapy projects may include:

• · mask making
• · soul/spirit dolls
• · painting
• · collaging
• · journaling
• · poetry writing

The first series of Heal Your Y Art Therapy begins Thursday, March 6th from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. This six-week group is open to all ages 14-21 and is open to newcomers at any time during the series. There is no requirement to attend every session in this series. Subsequent groups will be limited by age and will be closed to new members once group is established.