“Status report!”—Heading into the new year.

The end of a year is a period of transitions; a time to reflect on the waning year and set intention for the next.

As Marie and I start winding down for a much needed few weeks of recovery from 2021, we are also thinking forward to the new year and what lies in store for us and for Out of the Rain.

I want to take a moment and update everyone on what to expect from us in 2022.

LGBTQIA+ Support

Much of our focus since we opened our (mostly virtual) doors nearly 8 months ago has been on LGBTQIA+ support and education. This subject is near and dear to our hearts as queer individuals ourselves who have seen first hand the challenges LGBTQIA+ folks encounter in our community.

From compiling our LGBTQIA+ resource list, to contributing to workgroups and meetings, to facilitating Safe Zone workshops for organizations across Oregon, it is a personal passion of ours to help fill in the gaps in understanding of LGBTQIA+ identities and individuals.

We are also excited to share two new trainings for organizations: LGBTQIA+ “102”, a direct follow-up to the Safe Zone training that dives deeper into LGBTQIA+ identities and how to support them; and Supporting Transgender Clients, a workshop that focuses specifically on the unique needs of transgender individuals in the system. Both assume basic LGBTQIA+ competency.

Looking forward to 2022, we plan to continue expanding our supports to the LGBTQIA+ population in Coos County and across Oregon.

LGBTQIA+ support groups for community and professionals

In January we will be holding the first meetings of our LGBTQIA+ community support group. See our event page on Facebook or here on our website for more details. This group is open to LGBTQIA+ adults and the friends, family, and other allies of LGBTQIA+ youth and adults. We recognize that finding community and trustworthy help for queer folks in our area is a challenge, especially for LGBTQIA+ adults right now. LGBTQIA+ youth (13-24) looking for support can reach out to the Coos County Queers and Allies (Q+A) group by emailing qandacoos@gmail.com

Our hope is for this community group to be a safe space for individuals to come and ask questions of our team of professionals and other in the community. We want to do our part to contribute to the essential work of groups like Southern Oregon Coast Pride and PFLAG in bolstering an atmosphere of support and community for this essential and growing population.

Starting in January we will also be facilitating a support group for professionals working with LGTBQIA+ clients and LGBTQIA+ individuals in those fields.

We recognize that while there are numerous work groups, cohorts, boards, and other groups in the community designed to find solutions and get things done, there is a lack of resources to support the individuals doing this important work behind the scenes. Our LGBTQIA+ support group for professionals is intended as a space to not only ask questions of Out of the Rain and other professionals in our area, but also to build a sense of community, support, and wellness among the social workers and other helpers who are doing the often-underappreciated job of standing up for the needs of LGBTQIA+ members of our community.

We currently have not decided on scheduling for the LGBTQIA+ support group for professionals. If you are interested, please sign up for our newsletter here. We will be sending out a survey in early January to gauge what days/times work best for everyone to try to include as many individuals as possible.

Therapy

I am excited to confirm that starting early next year Marie Small will be officially accepting clients for therapy! Her waitlist is currently open now. Marie’s primary focus is around trauma, gender affirmation care, and children. You can learn more about Marie and her therapeutic approach (as well as details such as therapy and time frame etc.) here.

Life Coaching Scholarships

Out of the Rain maintains a scholarship fund to help cover the costs of life coaching for clients that need assistance paying for services. This fund is contributed to by both organizations and community members.

We currently have funds available for new clients! Click here if you’d like to learn more about life coaching with Out of the Rain, and click here to contact us about what options we have for free or reduced cost coaching.

If you’d like to “pay it forward” by contributing to this fund, please contact us. Any amount can make a difference, and you can opt in to be recognized in our monthly newsletter.

Expanded Community Workshops - Art, Mindfulness, and Whimsy

Over the past few months we have been developing a series of community workshops focused on promoting wellness through art, mindfulness, and reinforcing whimsy and magic in your life. These are things that we have found invaluable on our own journeys. We have combined our personal experience with sound counseling principles to create a series of workshops that will help you find approaches to mindfulness and meditation that are fun, creative, and work for you.

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We look forward to seeing what the new year will bring!

If you have any questions or comments please contact us.

You can follow us on Facebook or subscribe to our newsletter to receive announcements and updates of new events and services.

-Kylyn