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What's in this month's newsletter? 
  • When awareness of sexual assault is not enough;  
  • What kind of Family Dirt have you got;
  • Care and intimacy is sexual liberation;
  • Youth need queer & non-monogamous inclusive sex ed;
  • Anti-blackness is destroying children in schools;
  • Every community needs healing from sexual violence
  • That awkward time when I walked in on my kid masturbating. 
Greetings Friends;

We hope you had a short but fruitful February. As east coasters, we are grateful for the couple of warm days in the past few weeks. If you're looking for resources to get you through the rest of winter, check out Winter Healing Land, a comprehensive series for your winter healing needs.

This month, we held our annual work retreat to strengthen our relationships and create an even better workplace for us and those who work with us. We had a chance to hash out our Social Media Migration plan: minimize our social media presence, and send at least two newsletters a month. 

One is the usual last Monday release, currently at your service. The other will be the #NotForSocialMedia newsletter. This special edition will include real talk and social media unfriendly content for your curious minds and naughty hearts ;-)

This issue is jam-packed with goodies; For more, read on =) 
We're Excited About...
...designating April as Sexual Healing Month

For years, April has been nationally observed as Sexual Assault Awareness Month or SAAM. This has been a time when advocates and educators come together to raise awareness about the prevalence and impact of sexual violence. At The HEAL Project, we have a saying, "if you think you don't have sexual trauma, think again." The question is, what are we going to do about it all?

Moving beyond awareness and towards change, we want you to join us in the collective work of healing the Culture of Sexual Violence through much-needed personal and institutional investment in our well-being. If this resonates with you, spread the word about Sexual Healing Month!

In the coming weeks, we will be sorting out the deets and going live on Instagram to talk about our intentions for this month. Stay tuned! 
[ID: An off-white graphic with blue, green and gray text that reads, “The HEAL Project is observing the month of April as Sexual Healing Month, hey SAAM, let’s heal sex.” There are blue, pink and black hearts in the top right corner. There is a green box at the bottom with white text that reads, “April has been designated Sexual Assault Awareness Month. We say it’s time to move beyond awareness!” ]
Caution: Unrestricted
YOU MADE IT HAPPEN! With the generous redistribution of resources from CAUTION fans, we have reached our fundraising goal and have started production on this much-anticipated second season called, "Family Dirt."

In Family Dirt, we journey through layers of complicated feelings and reflect on the power of families to build and destroy us. If there is one thing we know about sexual violence, it's that it starts with family. Do you have family feelings? We want to hear from you!

Here is our tentative episode list:
One     Fear Makes a Family
Two     Control Makes a Family
Three  Secrecy Makes a Family
Four    Sex Makes a Family
Five     Love Makes a Family

In case you haven't watched the first season (Bad Survivors) yet, make sure to check it out here.
[ID: A graphic with a gray background. There is text that reads, “Caution Unrestricted, Family Dirt, Season 2, Coming Soon.” On the left there is white paint splatter, in between two cartoon images of Ignacio and Aredvi. Ignacio is a caramel skin, AFAB, gender fluid, Black-Latinx- Indigenous being. They have very short black hair. They are wearing yellow framed glasses and a white button down shirt with a white tank top underneath. They have a tattoo on their chin, starting at the bottom of their lower lip —a red strip that turns black under the chin and reaches their neck-dent. A spider is at the end of the black line inside the neck-dent. They have a chest tattoo that says “Fluid”.  Aredvi Azad is a genderfluid Irani-American immigrant. They have short dark brown hair. They are wearing a septum ring. They are wearing a white button down shirt. There is a white keyhole in the bottom right corner.]
Sexual Liberation Campaign
The second place winner of the Sexual Liberation Contest is the piece "Friendship Is Sexual Liberation" by Lourdez Velasco, who is also one of our Advisory Board members. 

Lourdez submitted an audio piece with accompanying art titled, “friendship is a practice of care and intimacy”. We transcribed the audio, so you can read or listen to the story in Lourdez's voice here. This is an excerpt from the piece:

"I've learned so much about the ways that I felt that I wasn't deserving of care and love and joy and even pleasure because of the shame, because of feeling like my power was taken from me. And through friendships, I've been able to really experience healing forms of care, of love, of pleasure, and of intimacy."

Be sure to support Lourdez and their transformative art at @tendervirgo! Find more Sexual Liberation Stories here and stay tuned for the third place winner next month! 
[ID: An illustration with a lavender background with black text that says “Friendship is practicing care & intimacy” with a drawing of two brown people. One person has a grey hoodie, green beanie and multi colored blue Jean jacket on with their eyes closed and smiling to the sky while the other person with black hair, brown jacket and beige tote bag kisses their cheek. They are both holding a stem of pink carnations and eucalyptus. A small text at corner of photo says “@tendervirgo”.]
Friendly Introductions

Stephanie Zapata (they/she series pronouns) is a raw, diasporic-descendant NuyoRican & Queer sex educator & space creator. For over a decade, Steph has been offering queer+non-monogamous inclusive sex ed to youth, and “training the trainers” on the expansive and limitless liberating potential of sex education.

More recently, Steph founded a virtual sexuality education conference (S.L.A.M. for Sexuality Liberators and Movers) that centers the expertise, voices, and experiences of BIPOC communities. You can learn more about the S.L.A.M community and conference here. 

Visit StephanieSpeaksHere.com and follow Steph's work on IG through @StephanieSpeaksHere & @SexualityLiberatorsAndMovers.

[ID: A graphic with an off-white background until the middle, then a blue divider and a gray background on the bottom. On the top half of the image, there is a photo image of Stephanie Zapata.Headshot of Stephanie Zapata on white background. Steph is a white, genderfluid person, who is smiling, with arms folded in a white and blue shirt. She is wearing dark, round brimmed glasses, dark brown hair up in a bun, and houses multiple tattoos on their arms.  On the bottom half of the image, there is white and blue text that reads, “Stephanie Zapata, Queer sex educator & space creator, Founder of Sexuality Liberator and Movers Virtual Symposium (SLAM) Conference.” In the bottom right corner, there is blue text that reads, “StephanieSpeaksHere.com”]
Connecting The Dots: Youth Edition

The second episode of Connecting The Dots: Youth Edition is here!

In this episode, Ignacio is joined by Chynna Aming to analyze the book and documentary Pushout: the Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools.

Ignacio and Chynna talk about criminalization of Black children, adultification and oversexualization of Black girls, the school to prison pipeline, and so much more.

For Black History Month, we highlighted the impact of anti-Blackness on children in a three-part series on Instagram. View all three posts here (Eurocentric Beauty Norms, Colorism, Adultification).

Read the book or watch the documentary before heading over to watch the analysis

[ID: A graphic with a off-white background. On the top half, there are two circle photographs, Ignacio Rivera on the left and Chynna Aming on the right. Ignacio is a caramel skin AFAB, gender fluid, Black-Latinx- Indigenous being. They are wearing a red and black dress with a diagonal line pattern. They have red colored glasses and dark brown eyes. They have a septum piercing and nose ring on the right side. They have a tattoo on their chin, starting at the bottom of their lower lip —a red strip that turns black under the chin and reaches their neck-dent. A spider is at the end of the black line inside the neck-dent. They have a chest tattoo that says “Fluid” and several other arm and finger tattoos. Chynna is a black person with black curly hair with sunglasses on their head. She is wearing a strapless off-white top. There is a pink box on the bottom half of the graphic with text that reads, “Connecting The Dots: Youth Edition, Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls, Documentary and Book Analysis with Ignacio Rivera and Chynna Aming.'' In the bottom right corner, there is a white keyhole.]
Events

SAAM and Sexual Healing Month are around the corner and we've already booked quite a few events. It's not too late, book us while we still have open dates! 

Educators and Organizations: bring us to teach your staff and students about consent and communication skills, sex & masculinity, gender identity and expression, QTBIPOC solidarity building, and intersectional approaches to healing & survivorship. Did you know if you book two or more programs with us at the same time, you get a 10% discount (excluding sliding scale rates)?  

Find all of our upcoming events on the Events Page. Read more about the programs we offer on the Programs Page
[Image description: An off-white graphic, with gray text on the top that reads, “Upcoming Events.” The center of the graphic is surrounded by blue and black lines. In the middle of the graphic, there is gray text that reads, “Breathwork Sessions , On Being Policed: A RWW Storyteller Showcase | 3/1  7-8:30pm . Sex. HEAL. Action! (Virtual Day-Long Institute by Ignacio & Aredvi) , Creating Change Conference | 3/18-19 TBD, Community, Spirituality, & Ritual for Surviving & Thriving (Workshop by Ignacio) | Black and Beyond the Binary Collective | 3/31 5:00-7:00pm, Where The Line Resides: Surviving The Cycle of Sexual Harm (Workshop by Ignacio & Aredvi) | Muhlenberg College | 4/12 4:30-6:00pm, How to Speak Your Language of Sex, Love, & Play (Workshop by Ignacio & Aredvi) | William Paterson University | 4/13 11:00am-12:30pm, Community Supported Non-Monogamy (Keynote by Ignacio & Aredvi), Southwest Love Fest Live Con 2022 | 4/15 2:00-4:30pm, Community Supported Non-Monogamy (Keynote by Ignacio & Aredvi) , Southwest Love Fest Virtual Con 2022 | 4/22 4:00-6:15pm, Building Your Healing Village: At The Intersection of Pleasure, Trauma and Survivorship (Keynote by Ignacio) | Lafayette College | 4/27 6:00-7:30pm.”  In the bottom left corner, there is gray text that reads, “@heal2end.”]
RASHIM & Friends
Wandering what RASHIM is all about? RASHIM & Friends are here to crack it open: Let's talk about masturbation & body exploration! (3rd Pillar of RASHIM) 

Parents often struggle with internalized shame when it comes to talking to children about sexuality topics, but silence confirms and passes on the shame. Together, we can break patterns of generational trauma and raise sex and body conscious children

RASHIM (aka Rivera-Azad Sexual Healing Integration Model) is the result of Ignacio and Aredvi's three decades of combined experiences with sexuality, trauma, healing, and sexual liberation. In short, RASHIM is a roadmap to sexual liberation that passes through sexual healing
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