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About Us
Lifelong
AIDS Alliance
Prevention Education Department
Mission
& Vision
Lifelong AIDS Alliance's Prevention Education Team cultivates and nurtures
wisdom, strength, and unity to combat prejudice and improve self-esteem
in order to dramatically decrease the transmission of HIV and STDs. We
are a recognized leader and the foremost community resource in innovative
HIV prevention, as well as a coveted place to work and volunteer.
Our mission is to provide individuals and communities with awareness and knowledge of HIV and STDs and the skills and support to reduce the risk of infection.
Programs & Staff
POSITIVE
CHOICES, INTERSEXIONS
& ONE2ONE
Comprehensive Risk Counseling and Services (CRCS)
- Positive Choices and Intersexions are risk reduction programs
for sexually active HIV-positive men and HIV-negative or unknown status
guys who have sex with other men. We are here to provide a safe space
for men to discuss their sexual risk in a non-judgmental environment.
Topics that may be addressed include disclosure, feelings about condoms
use, the effects of substance use on safer sex practices, and negotiating
safer sex with a partner. Both programs are individual interactions, and
clients can get up to $100 in grocery vouchers for participating. We have
male and female staff.
|
WILLIAM BORDEN - CRCS Supervisor
206.957.1679 |
|
|
| MEGAN WHITE - CRCS Coordinator
206.957.1680 |
|
|
GARLAND JARMON - CRCS COORDINATOR
206.957.1713 |
|
PAUL McGEE - CRCS COORDINATOR
206.957.1615 |
William was born on the future (and then past) site of the Renton
K-Mart store, then Renton General Hospital, now torn down. Groomed
by White parents to be an active anti-racist educator and rabble-rouser,
he traversed the 60’s in suburban Seattle and moved to the
heart of Capitol Hill in 1971 where he co-habitated with and recognized
he was one of “the Gays.” The rest is history. Always
a champion of the under-served and oppressed, he received his
Master of Social Work degree from the University of Washington
School of Social Work in 2006. Currently working with queer men
and a fabulous staff at Lifelong AIDS Alliance serves to keep
him satisfied and on the path of fighting the good fight. He will
never return to K-Mart, even in light of the opening of several
Big K’s.
I
was raised in San Francisco and have been living in beautiful
Seattle for four years now, after stints in Illinois, Colorado
and Massachusetts. I have been working in the field of social
work since 1999 and received my Masters in Social Work from Smith
College in 2005. I have provided counseling in many settings including
sexual assault centers, domestic violence shelters, the juvenile
justice system, homeless shelters, elementary, junior high and
high schools. I have been studying human sexuality since high
school and am very excited to finally have a job where I can use
this knowledge. I love meeting new people, hearing their stories
and helping them figure out how to live the healthy, happy, fulfilled
lives they deserve.
Born
as an Air Force Brat to two military parents, I bring to the CRCS
team a different perspective on the racial and cultural influences
that affect the African American MSM community in Seattle. Warner
Robins, Georgia is home and I hold a BFA in Speech Communication
from Valdosta State University in Valdosta, GA. I moved to Seattle
in the summer of 2009 from Tampa, FL where I planned to further
my education at UW towards an MSW. Having traversed the often muddy
and treacherous waters of race, gender, sexuality, and spirituality
I have an opportunity, now, to counsel and motivate others, who
have also struggled on their journey, towards a healthier and more
productive existence. It is an honor heading the ONE2ONE Program
at Lifelong AIDS Alliance so let us together break through the fear,
stereotypes, rumors, and lies that keep us, as a community, in bondage
and darkness. Let there be light! 
From
humble beginnings in the Great Lake State, my first involvement
with Men’s Sexual Health Education was discussing condom use
and managing a food pantry at Lansing Area AIDS Network. After graduating
from Michigan State with Film and Marketing degrees, another fulfilling
challenge was offered. I was invited to promote the joys of positive
sexual health and barrier devices while working with the Peace Corps
as a HIV Community Educator. After three years in Madagascar, I
returned to the States and dubbed Seattle my new home. I started
at Lifelong in the IT department and enjoyed my work with numbers;
I now enjoy another side of the agency, working with faces. MEN'S
OUTREACH
Lifelong’s gay/bi men’s outreach program educates men who
are at high risk for contracting HIV and STDs. We distribute over 140,000
condoms each year to the bathhouses, where we do peer-to-peer outreach
on the weekends in collaboration with HIV/STD testing through public health.
We distribute 120,000 condom kits to 17 bars in Seattle so that guys will
always be able to keep each other safe. We also develop educational materials
- including a quarterly 'zine that goes out to the bathhouses - and maintain
this web site. We’re always looking to expand our team of outreach
volunteers with guys who are friendly, outgoing, and like the social scene.
If that sounds like you, let
us know! The Men's Program is one of the only programs in
Seattle that distributes safer sex materials to gay/bisexual men in high-risk
environments. We also work in collaboration with the local HIV Vaccine
Trials Unit to raise awareness about local vaccine trials right here in
Seattle. For more information go to: seattlevaccines.org
|
TODD HULL - Outreach Specialist
206.957.1703 |
I’ve been doing HIV prevention and education since 1999 when
I started working Minnesota AIDS Project. I moved to Seattle, and
in 2004 started working at Lifelong. I believe in an asset-based
approach to men’s health – instead of focusing on everything
that we’re doing “wrong”, let’s hone in
on why men do what they do and ways to change behaviors that put
our health at risk. HIV prevention is interesting work: thanks to
my job I’ve been to more bathhouses, sex clubs, bars and parties
than I could’ve possibly imagined.MPOWERMENT
Established in 2001 as a pilot program, MPowerment
provides three core services: mentoring, HIV/AIDS and AOD prevention education
projects and social activities focused on empowering GLBT youth between
the ages of 16 and 22 through media projects and special events. MPowerment's
objectives include recruiting a core group of youth to meet weekly to
design and carry out project activities, establishing a facility where
project activities can be held, and conducting social and artistic events
that promote sexual risk reduction messages. The program helps participants
learn to cope with challenging situations and avoid unsafe sexual activity.
Program activities build self-esteem and help young people better participate
in an increasingly complex society. Activities range from generating projects
that incorporate prevention messages, to hosting dances and other special
events.
| DONNY GERKE - MPowerment Supervisor 206.957.1725 |
|
| TOM YANG - Outreach Coordinator/AOD Specialist
206.957.1665 |
Donny,
a native Montanan and Seattle University alum, returned to Seattle
to join Lifelong’s Prevention Education team in January of
2006. As one of the younger members of the Prevention Education
team, Donny gracefully endures constant exposure to age-related
jokes from his co-workers. Prior to his work with Lifelong, Donny
co-coordinated the Mpowerment program in St. Louis, Missouri.
He also has experience providing individual and group-level mental
health and sexual risk reduction counseling for youth and young
adults. In addition to his work at Lifelong, Donny volunteers with
a local community mental health agency and will be participating
as a therapist in a research study on relapse prevention at the
University of Washington. Donny holds a Master of Social Work degree
from the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in
St. Louis with a concentration in direct practice mental health
and a focus on practice with LGBTQ and youth populations.
I
graduated from University of Washington in June 2007. From 2005-2007,
I was working in the Q Center, a LGBTQ resource center at UW, as
the Campus Communication Coordinator. From there, I had the privilege
to work with people of various identities and learn to approach
situations from an anti-oppressive viewpoint. Throughout my undergraduate
career, I have volunteered with my fraternity brothers at various
Lifelong AIDS Alliance events, which eventually led me to apply
to work here. I am passionate about education and believe in the
importance of prevention work against the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Lifelong AIDS Alliance was formed in January 2001 through the merger of Chicken Soup Brigade and Northwest AIDS Foundation. This union creates a new agency ready to face a new era in the HIV/AIDS epidemic. We provide housing and home chores, food and nutrition services, insurance continuation, transportation, case management, and emergency financial assistance to people living with HIV/AIDS; our community services include prevention education and national public policy advocacy.