Planting Seeds & Watering Them: Skill Building and Acquisition:

 

I have been specializing in working with peer staff and developing their skills to retain professional placement for the past 20 years. I approach my work as though I am planting seeds through my facilitation/trainings  and water those seeds through follow up trainings and support.

 

 

Trainings are best conducted when they provided with on-going follow up for skill development, practice and support. In the premise of Adult Learning Theory, adults optimally learn when they are taught a skill (plant a seed), have the ability to practice that skill (watering the seeds) and then when they are able to teach another individual that same skill (planting new seeds), they have mastered that skill.  I am committed to building the skills of all of the individuals that I work with and want them to retain their skills to their best practicality. I employ pragmatic approaches with an emphasis on strengths-based outcomes

 

 I have facilitated trainings in all state’s with a star!

Customizable and Individualized Skill Building ~ Developing Board of Directors ~ Strategic Annual Visioning with Time Phased Outcomes ~ Organizational Sustainability ~ Systems Building ~ Program Development, Implementation, and Evaluation ~ Staff Skill Cultivation ~ Retreats ~ Meeting Facilitation ~ Individualized Content ~ Health Education Groups & Curriculum

#Squishytalk Curriculum

#SquishyTalk provides comprehensive health education that is based in harm reduction principles. I specialize in providing pragmatic sexual health and drug using information. I provide daily social media updates, a monthly blog and I have developed programs and curricula on the below topics, plus many more.

 

 

My approach to sexual health is different from the traditional abstinence education; I offer a nonjudgmental, pragmatic approach in applying direct health education with facts, gender/orientation, disease outcomes and ways to prevent STDs/HIV, unwanted pregnancies, interpersonal violence and provide a menu of risk reduction options. Therefore, I have created an innovative approach to sexual health education that can reach individuals that may be in greater need of accessing this information: #Squishytalk.

 

 

#Squishytalk is curriculum geared to those individuals or vulnerable populations that may be at greater risk for pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases including HIV, individuals that use substances, may have more then one partner, and how they can go about reducing their risk.

 

 

Topics could include: Communicable Diseases: HIV, Hepatitis, STDs, Harm Reduction and Substance Use; Safer Sex and Risk Reduction; Sexual and Reproductive Health; Motivational Interviewing; Peer Services; Trauma-Informed Services; Social Determinants of Health; Effective Communication; Gender Variance, Sexual Orientation and Being an Ally;

 

 

Trained to Facilitate the following Evidence Based Interventions’s from the Center for Disease Control

Personal Cognitive Counseling ~ WILLOW ~ Social Network Strategy ~ Targeted Testing ~ Recruitment and Retention ~ ARTAS ~ Grant Writing

 

 

 

Sarah Sears, Coordinator of Los Medanos Foster & Kinship Care Ed Program

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Jenn is as fun, brave and energetic as she is knowledgeable. She talks about issues that make the average person blush with grace, humor and clarity. She has a wealth of real-life experience that helps her to facilitate lively presentations and discussion. I look forward to her training every time.” 

 

 

 

What is Squishy you ask?

Squishytalk was innovated while working in San Francisco county jail. I needed a way to reach more individuals across a larger spectrum of age, race, religious beliefs and cultural beliefs about sexual health and risk.  Squishy was cultivated to talk about reproductive health and STD/HIV prevention and reduce the stigma in communicating about sexual health by using a catchy word to describe sexual orifices like a mouth, vagina, anus and when his penis is not hard, it’s squishy. I also interchange ‘squishy’ as having sex or getting some squishy without having to say the word ‘sex’. I have found that many people are socialized to not discuss sex, but by not talking about it and learning the facts about sexual health actually increases individuals risk.  I hope this clarifies my definition(s) of squishy and how I use it interchangeably when reading my blogs or posts or when you consider me for trainings.

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For services or more information, please feel free to email me at ManaFirst.Jenn@gmail.com