“She contacted me in June of this past summer to connect about recent HIV/STI data coming from the Tuscaloosa region and her concern that her office needed to better connect with youth and queer youth about these important issues,” Bagley, an assistant professor of communication studies and president of the Capstone Allianc, said. “She invited Safe Zone to present at a professional development event for public health workers, and then it was my vision to bring Shakina and a series of other experts to campus as part of LGBTQ History Month.”
Safe Zone is hosting an LGBTQ Sexual Health and Relationships Workshop Monday from 2 to 6 p.m. in room 2408 Ferguson Center.
The event will feature three panels tackling important topics regarding sexual health and relationships, followed by a Q-and-A session for audience questions. Bagley also said there will be a system in place to allow nervous audience members to ask confidential questions.
Wheeler-Cox will join sex educator Anne Reynolds in the first panel to discuss making sexually healthy choices. The second panel focuses on healthy LGBTQ relationships, led by Natalie Beck from the UA Counseling Center and Sarah Young from the School of Social Work. For the final panel, a UA graduate who recently contracted HIV will tell his story and discuss living with HIV.
“The purpose of the event is to inform, provide prevention education, reduce stigma and fear and spread awareness about what’s happening in Alabama as it relates to the overall promotion of healthy lifestyles choices, which should encourage safe relationships,” Wheeler-Cox said. “The audience will learn where to access resources who they can trust and how to become better individuals – mind, soul and body.”
Bagley said the event will be beneficial for both people who identify as LGBTQ and those who do not by targeting signs of an unhealthy relationship and making the audience aware of resources available to those facing the issues addressed.
The three panels will be followed by a reception with refreshments in the Great Hall of the Ferguson Student Center.
