Events of Interest TODAY at Wash College and in the near future....hope to see you!

Hi friends,

There are several timely announcements/opportunities in this post, so skim on down as needed to get them all…

Sorry for the late notice about this, but tonight at Washington College consider:

Kand McQueen, a national advocate for transgender awareness, will discuss the limitations of gender identification and how society’s strict interpretations can negatively affect a culture.

Like much of the world, Western society rests on the assumption that all persons exist unambiguously as either man or woman. As a society, however, that assumption is being questioned and challenged in ways that are creating a growing national conversation on the topic.

On March 2, that conversation will take the stage at Washington College when Kand McQueen, a nationally known keynote speaker and advocate for transgender awareness, will speak on “Sex and Gender: Two Are Definitely Not Enough and Why It Matters.” The event at 7:00 p.m. in Decker Theatre of the Gibson Center for the Arts is free and open to the public. A reception will follow the program.

The goals of the talk are to help the audience see how the binary categories of “male” and “female” are inadequate to contain that part of human experience referred to as sex and gender, and to understand how our strict, dichotomous thinking negatively affects all people. In the talk, McQueen will make the case for a greater acceptance of all human beings and the diversity of our species.

McQueen, who addresses issues of transgenderism, intersexuality, and the inadequacies of our current two-and-only-two sex/two-gender way of thinking, earned a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology—Inquiry Methodology from Indiana University.

This event is variously supported by the Office of Intercultural Affairs, the Gender Studies Program, the Department of Education, and the Office of Wellness and Prevention Education. Major sponsorship comes from the William James Forum and the Gibson-Wagner Psychology Department Fund. Theta of Maryland, Washington College’s Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, will host the reception.

Next week, YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID TRAINING…only a few spots left!

Offered by Maryland Coalition of Families in partnership with Mental Health Association in Talbot County

March 11, 2016 from 8:30am-5:00pm

Pizza will be provided for lunch

Location: Kent County Library

Yellow Building, 207Calvert St., Chestertown, MD 21620 

About Youth Mental Health First Aid:

·         Evidence-based training that teaches the signs and symptoms of mental health disorders.

·         Provides individuals with tools to respond to a mental health emergency until professional help arrives.

·         Provides action steps to take in order to help a young person ages 12-17 experiencing the early signs of a mental health disorder.

·         Designed for parents, teachers and caregivers of that age group. 

COURSE OFFERED FREE OF CHARGE

With support from the Leonard and Helen R. Stulman Foundation

All participants will be certified in Youth Mental Health First Aid and receive a certificate of completion valid for 3 years 

For Professionals:

8 CEU’s available for social work, psychology, counseling (for a fee of $30) and nursing CEU’s are free

To register for this course contact Danielle Murphy with

Mental Health Association in Talbot County at 410-822-0444or email dmurphy@mhamdes.org ….call since registration is almost closed.

Last, but not least…thanks so much to all who attended the Listening Session held at Chesapeake College last week with Free State Legal/Equality Maryland.  The discussion was full of quality and depth…and we are proud to be partnering in this important work together.  More to come from them on the Eastern Shore and everywhere!  Support them!  Visit their websites for details of events taking place in the near future in Salisbury...and see the new PFLAG Chapter in Salisbury!

Our regular monthly Third Tuesday Chestertown Chapter meeting will be held at UUCR at 7 pm on Tuesday March 15. 

 We will recap all the recent events and share proposals as we look to the months ahead.  Our Gay Straight Alliance “grant” phase has ended and we will not be hosting an “open house” event for this week’s First Friday on March 4. 

At our April 19 Chestertown Chapter meeting we will hold our annual chapter officer elections and announce programs plans for the months ahead.

Hope to see you at any of these events with your questions, ideas and resources of energy and caring.  I will be leading the meeting, this month at UUCR, Tues, March 15, 7 pm…we welcome all and will have time for mutual support too!