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Want to be a Sense Animator?

by Sense Project on

We are currently seeking new volunteer animators for the 2012-13 school year!

Interested in facilitating sex ed workshops with youth in high schools? Getting involved with the Sense Project at Head & Hands is a fantastic opportunity to support the well being of youths in Montreal.

Some need-to-know info about applying to be a Sense Project animator:

  • New animators must be aged 25 and under
  • We’re looking for people who can commit to being an animator for the entire school year (Sept-early Dec, Jan-May)
  • Animators should be committed to Head & Hands principles of anti-oppression, harm reduction, and non-judgment.
  • Animators should have at least some availability on weekdays during the day. Last year’s animators volunteered an average of 70 hours each throughout the school year, but how much you end up volunteering depends on your schedule and your availability.
  • Bilingualism is not mandatory, but it’s an asset! The training will be bilingual (FR-ENG).
  • It is also an asset if you have previous animation experience or experience working with youth, but it’s not a requirement.
  • It is mandatory to attend the full animator training.

Animator training dates

Tuesday Sept. 11th 6-9pm

Thursday Sept.  13th 6-9pm

Saturday Sept. 15th 11-4pm

Tuesday Sept. 18th 6-9pm

Thursday Sept.  20th 6-9pm

Saturday Sept. 22nd 11-4pm

Tuesday Sept. 25th 6-9pm

Thursday Sept.  27th 6-9pm

Saturday Sept. 29th 11-4pm

 

If you meet these criteria, please complete the Volunteer Form and send it to Gabrielle at healthed@headandhands.ca. We’ll then book a short screening interview with prospective volunteers. The deadline to apply is Monday, August 6th.

If you have any questions, feel free to call Gabrielle at (514) 481-0277!

Crafternoon for World AIDS Day at Head & Hands!

by Sense Project on

Do you like doing crafts or making videos? Do you want to support World AIDS Day and Head & Hands? Do you want to drink hot chocolate and have fun talking about safer sex with other rad crafters?

Then come join us at our Crafternoon on Monday, November 29!

Who: You and your buds!What: Making crafts (buttons, patches, etc) and a short video* to promote safer sex and getting tested for HIV– just in time for World AIDS Day!
When: Monday, November 29 from 4-6pm
Where: Head & Hands (5833 Sherbrooke Street West)
Why: To have fun, to get involved at Head & Hands, and to spread the word about the importance of safer sex and the FREE RAPID HIV TESTING NIGHT** on December 1st.

Bring friends, bring craft materials, bring creative energy for filming, and bring the fun! (though we will have all of the above on hand, too!)

*A note about the video: we’ll be filming different volunteers doing condom demonstrations on various random objects (e.g. chair legs, vegetables, doorknobs, fenceposts, etc.). Condom tutorial will be provided, and everyone is welcome to film a segment if they’re comfortable!
**A word on Rapid HIV Testing: Head & Hands is proud to host its first rapid HIV testing clinic on World AIDS Day, December 1st, 2010 between 5 and 8pm.  The service is free for youth aged 12 to 25, and allows people to get their results on the spot. Counseling, information and referrals will be offered on site.

Wanna talk about SEX?

by Sense Project on

If you like talking about sex or if you have any thoughts or questions about it, come to Head & Hand’s new monthly drop-in sessions!  These are informal hang-outs for youth 12-18 to come to Head & Hands and meet other youth who want to talk about sex and sexuality, or who want to become peer sex educators in their own schools and communities. There will be workshops, discussions, activities and games, possibly movies, always free food and not mention condoms and lube!!!  This is also a great way to get involved in the Sense Project or take action in your school or community! 

The first drop-in is on Wednesday, October 27th from 4-6pm at Head & Hands (5833 Sherbrooke West). If you want to come or want more info, visit http://www.senseproject.org/en/get-involved/

In the Forum: DOES ORAL SEX COUNT AS SEX?

by Sense Project on

Safety_hugo says:

Virginity sounds like a simple matter to a lot of people. It usually implies having never had penetrative sex, but it can get tricky quickly.

What if two guys have sex together for years but never do penetration, because that’s not their thing – are they virgins?

What if two women have sex together for years, never doing penetration – are they virgins? What if they start using sex toys for penetration?

What if a woman does penis-anus penetration with her partner, but no penis-vagina sex to protect her hymen, is she still a virgin?

Virginity is a label. You decide if it applies to you or not. What becomes an issue is when people are treated poorly because of their sexual experience, or lack of thereof. Or when people feel they’ve wasted something important if they end up having a mediocre first sexual experience (for whatever reason). There’s a good chance that your first time will be less than 0.1% of your sex life, yet people put so much emphasis on it. The first sexual experience that really matters is the first one you truly enjoy.

What matters is whether you are enjoying what you are doing with your partner or not, and whether you want to explore other aspects of your sexuality. People can judge you on what you have done or not, but that shouldn’t be.

So You Think You Can Marche?!

by Sense Project on

Are things crazy busy at work and/or school? Looking for a way to decompress and have fun? Well, look no further because we have teamed up with the Farha Foundation to raise money for the Sense Project and will be doing so by dancing our way down Saint-Catherine’s. So, please join us this Sunday and bust a move…or two! We can guarantee booty shakin’ goodness!

Stuff you should know…

When: Sunday, September 20th

Where: Departure Site is Parc Émilie-Gamelin (Berri-UQAM Metro)

Who: Members of Head & Hands community

Why: “Ça Marche” is an opportunity for us to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and the importance of prevention. We will, also, be working towards our goal of raising 9999$ for the Sense Project – our peer based sex education program.

Obviously you want to get involved but don’t know how, so, check out these options:

1. Sponsor* us online by clicking here. 

2. Join our online team and invite your friends and family to donate* (pledge forms are also available in our office).

3. Come out and get sweaty with us on September 20th .

4. Forward this email to 10 friends….and join your team to our page and benefit H&H!

Hope to see you on Sunday,

Cheers!

p.s. This year’s dance theme will be inspired by Run-DMC’s It’s Like That.

To see how much fun it was last year, check out this video:

Student runs a lending library of banned books from her school locker

by Sense Project on

I just ran across this interesting story on Boing Boing, which comes from a Yahoo! Answers post. This relates to issues peer educators from the Sense Project may sometimes face, as high school administrations are not always open to letting students run activities related to sex education or distribute condoms to other students. Here’s the story.

I go to a private school that is rather strict. Recently, the principal and school teacher council released a (very long) list of books we’re not allowed to read. I was absolutely appalled, because a large number of the books were classics and others that are my favorites. One of my personal favorites, The Catcher in the Rye, was on the list, so I decided to bring it to school to see if I would really get in trouble. Well… I did but not too much. Then (surprise!) a boy in my English class asked if he could borrow the book, because he heard it was very good AND it was banned! This happened a lot and my locker got to overflowing with the banned books, so I decided to put the unoccupied locker next to me to a good use. I now have 62 books in that locker, about half of what was on the list. I took care only to bring the books with literary quality. Some of these books are:

>The Perks of Being a Wallflower
>His Dark Materials trilogy
>Sabriel
>The Canterbury Tales
>Candide
>The Divine Comedy
>Paradise Lost
>The Godfather
>Mort
>Interview with the Vampire
>The Hunger Games
>The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
>A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
>Animal Farm
>The Witches
>Shade’s Children
>The Evolution of Man
> the Holy Qu’ran
… and lots more.

Anyway, I now operate a little mini-library that no one has access to but myself. Practically a real library, because I keep an inventory log and give people due dates and everything. I would be in so much trouble if I got caught, but I think it’s the right thing to do because before I started, almost no kid at school but myself took an active interest in reading! Now not only are all the kids reading the banned books, but go out of their way to read anything they can get their hands on. So I’m doing a good thing, right? Oh, and since you’re probably wondering “Why can’t you just go to a local library and check out the books?” most of the kids are too chicken or their parents won’t let them but the books. I think that people should have open minds. Most of the books were banned because they contained information that opposed Catholisism. I limit my ‘library’ to only the sophmores, juniors and seniors just in case so you can’t say I’m exposing young people to materiel they’re not mature enough for. But is what I’m doing wrong because parents and teachers don’t know about it and might not like it, or is it a good thing because I am starting appreciation of the classics and truly good novels (Not just fad novels like Twilight) in my generation?

“Kid keeping a library of banned books in her locker” on Boing Boing

Original post from the student on Yahoo! Answers