Get Active at the Rainbow Health Fair!

Never before has the Rainbow Health Fair hosted exercise activities! This is the year!

The health fair will be held at Seattle Central Community College on Saturday, June 23rd, and so we have much more space available to help you get in touch with new and fun activities and exercises. We will provide a diverse selection of activities to choose from, including:

Zumba!

Zumba is a Latin dance-inspired fitness program. Instructor Jennifer Cepeda http://www.hellosparkfit.com/about/ leads classes at Youngstown Cultural Art Center in West Seattle.

Contra dancing!

Contra dancing refers to several partnered folk dance styles in which couples dance in two facing lines. Lots of fun! Dancing will be led by Seattle Rainbow Contra Dance. They also lead regular dances - be sure to check their website.

Stretching!

Tamara the Trapeze Lady will lead us in stretching exercises. Get ready to twist and turn! She was one of the first trapeze artists in Seattle - leading to a local revival. She has also developed her own style of stretching, gives trapeze classes, and regularly performs.

Nia!

Nia is a sensory-based movement practice that draws from martial arts, dance arts, and healing arts. These classes will be led by a group of Nia teachers, including Deborah Davis, Sarah Love, Jena Hennessey, Randee Fox, and Allison Wright.


Booty Camp!
Booty Camp is a community oriented, holistic, outdoor women's fitness program. Designed for every ability level, Booty Camp helps women feel confident and strong in their bodies.

We hope you find something new to help you de-stress - something to support the overall health of your body, mind, and spirit. Try out free classes at the Rainbow Health Fair to see what these activities are all about!

Are LBTQ women at risk for HIV?

Tonya Rasberry has gotten used to telling her story. As a Peer Advocate for BABES Network-YWCA, it’s her job. She’s gone around to schools and spoken at public events – telling diverse audiences about how she became a woman living with HIV, and what her life is like now.

Last week, Edge magazine published an article about Tonya, highlighting that Tonya was no less at risk for HIV infection, despite the fact she is a lesbian woman of color.

“When Eric and I were together we shared a lot of things,” she continued, “including partners. … I was always attracted to women and of course I wasn’t going to get a complaint out of him when it came to me living a bisexual lifestyle,” she explained. “Not once did I consider the fact that maybe he also had a private life of his own, and no matter what we were doing behind closed doors neither one of us thought we would have HIV/AIDS affect our lives the way it has.”

Many women who have sex with women don’t realize that they are also at risk for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, according to Kim Chronister, M.A., a therapist at AIDS Services Foundation. “According to my research, HIV can potentially be transmitted by exposure of the mucous membrane (i.e., the mouth) to vaginal secretions,” she said. “Also, shared penetrative toys may be a means for transmission of infected vaginal secretions, according to the CDC. In my therapeutic work with women who have sex with women, simple steps that these women can take to lower their risks of being infected may seem obvious, but unfortunately are rarely taken.”

Tonya calls for dialogue among communities of women to address the risk of HIV for LBTQ women: “I believe that just having the conversation about HIV/AIDS in our [lesbian] community is unbelievably crucial, because as long as a sexually active person is talking about those sensitive subjects it will help us alleviate some of the stigma that surrounds this topic.”

On June 23rd, BABES Network-YWCA is joining the YWCA Rainbow Health Fair and will have information on HIV/AIDS and the psycho-social support services they provide. HIV testing will also be provided by Gay City Health Project. Hope you can make it!

June 23rd is the Pride Date to remember!

14th Annual LBTQ Rainbow Health Fair - save June 23^rd!

Join us for a fun, vibrant, active, and informative health fair the Saturday of Pride! It’ll be bigger and better than ever before, at Seattle Central Community College.

Saturday, June 23rd

1pm – 5pm

Seattle Central Community College

1701 Broadway

Seattle

Peer providers will share their services, including acupuncture, massage, energy healing, Zumba, stretching with Tamara the Trapeze Lady, HIV testing, cholesterol checks, naturopathic consultation, coming out services, mental health education, and a wonderful laughter session provided by our own Ingrid Berkhout. Stay tuned for a comprehensive program overview closer in early June.

The Swedish Breast Center Mammography Coach will join us on-site for no-cost mammograms. Grace Chapman, ARNP, will also be providing pap tests. Eligible individuals for these no-cost services must be income-eligible, and 40 or over. Insurance is also accepted. To schedule your mammogram and pap test, call YWCA Women’s Health Outreach’s Marilyn Calbert at 206.461.4489.

We are so excited to be holding this health fair again this year, bringing back many interactive and critical health services to Rainbow! We’ll have new partners joining us – bringing us dance exercise, financial education, and Healthy Sleep 101 – for the first time ever!

Over the coming weeks, we’ll share more information about different peer providers and their services. Stay tuned!

Fundraiser at California Pizza Kitchen for Rainbow Health Fair

Have you heard about how you can enjoy a wonderful meal at the Northgate California Pizza Kitchen with your friends AND 20% of your check will be donated to the YWCA Women's Health Outreach Rainbow Health Fair?  Purchases include dine-in, take-out, catering and alcoholic beverages!  This is a fabulous way to nourish the body and the soul. 

We will be onsite during each evening May 15th, 16th and 17th of the event with flyers to present to your server (you need the flyer for 20% of your check to be donated to the Rainbow Health Fair).  Grab a group of friends and make an evening of it!

You can also contact iberkhou@ywcaworks.org for an emailed flyer.

May 15th, 16th and 17th

California Pizza Kitchen

401 NE Northgate Way, Seattle, WA 98125

Happy Greens to Help You Heal

We always get to hear: Eat more dark leafy greens - good for your health and well-being!!

To get excited about this is a different matter entirely.
After I read this article, I felt inspired to try out a kale chip recipe. It's gotten me all excited again! PCC's article, "The virtues of greens," explains all the reasons why green vegetables are so good for us.

The color green, which has to do with the plant's chlorophyll, has always been associated with healing. When a vegetable has more chlorophyll, its green color comes in a darker shade. To receive the most benefits of greens, eat them raw or gently cooked! The less you cook greens, the more nutrients your body gets.

"The virtues of greens" touches on the different qualities of these vegetables, like prevention of heart disease, breast cancer, and other cancers; the building of stronger bones; and their ability to remove toxins from our bodies. In the words of Karen Lamphere, "research tells us that vegetables, and especially the green variety, are essential for our health!!"

Make a Rainbow Donation this February! (And get matched!)

Breast, ovarian and cervical cancers affects hundreds of thousands of women every year. Many of whom are our sisters, mothers, nieces, aunts, grandmothers, friends or loved ones. Unfortunately, most of you know someone who has been affected by these cancers, or who is being affected as we speak. Fortunately, there is a way you can give back to this cause, right now.

YWCA Women’s Health Outreach is a program that provides peer outreach, culturally-sensitive breast health education, no-cost mammograms, and information on additional health services for our diverse community. The program offers no-cost mammograms, pap tests and breast exams for income eligible individuals 40 and over. We serve those with limited incomes who are medically underserved, regardless of sexual orientation and/or gender identity. We also focus our outreach efforts on women from African American, Latina, and LBTQ communities.

Every year to coincide with the Pride festivities, YWCA Women’s Health Outreach organizes a Rainbow Health Fair for members of the LBTQ community. At these health fairs, we make free health resources and education available to a population and community that is all too often overlooked by our healthcare system. This year, we are hoping to make it the biggest and best health fair thus far. But, in order to do that, we need your help!

If this is a cause that interests you, please visit our YWCA Donations webpage: http://www.ywcaworks.org/netcommunity/, and click the “donate” button on the right hand side of the webpage. Once on the donation page, select the designation to be the Health Access Department, and in the comments section of additional information, specify LBTQ Health: Rainbow Health Fair. Note that 100% of your money goes directly to YWCA Women's Health Outreach.

And, in the month of February, donations will be matched dollar for dollar - up to $1,000! Consider a tax deductible gift of $10, $25, $50 or more to support the health of women in the Seattle area!

Thank you and be well.

Screening at Wildrose a great Success - Video of Beth Kruse ARNP

Please enjoy this video of our recent screening at the Wildrose. 

Why is it important for women who are lesbian, bisexual, transgender/sexual and queer (LBTQ) to be regularly screened for breast and cervical cancers?

Women who are LBTQ have higher risks of breast and cervical cancers than heterosexual women. They’re also more likely to have lower incomes and be uninsured or under-insured, making them less likely to be screened. YWCA Women’s Health Outreach holds two mobile screening events each year to provide these critical services to women who are LBTQ in our community.  December 10, 2011 Program Manager Ingrid Berkhout and Health Access and Volunteer Coordinator Samantha Tripoli joined up with the Wild Rose bar, Swedish Medical Center and Beth Kruse, ARNP, to screen 19 women!
Watch this video below to hear the stories of LBTQ women, volunteers and health care provider Beth Kruse!