Afternoon Workshop Selections

Session 13 Rainbows and Cages: Immigration Detention, Prisons, and Health

(REPEAT of Afternoon Session 11)
Presented By:

Ral Alcaraz Ochoa, The Rainbow Defense Fund Marco Galdino, The Rainbow Defense Fund Frida Espinosa, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pblica (Mexico) & Alliance for Global Justice Stephanie Quintana, The Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project

Session Abstract Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender migrants in Arizona compose a highly vulnerable population in Arizona immigration detention centers and private and public correctional facilities. LGBTQ migrants in detention often face a higher level of harassment, discrimination and trauma at the hands of fellow detainees and detention personnel, compared to non-LGBTQ migrants. Limited legal resources, primary and mental health resources as well as advocacy, is available for this subpopulation, which leaves individuals to fend for themselves during their detention. The group of panelists will present testimonies from formerly incarcerated LGBTQ community members, and provide a forum for activists, organizers, legal advocates, and mental health professionals who are interested in improving conditions and services for this resilient LGBT population. Often, LGBT migrants arrive to Arizona after fleeing from violent persecution lived in their native countries due to their LGBT identity, but are tragically re-victimized when they arrive to an Arizona correctional facility and if not immediately deported, during their reintegration to an Arizona community. While in detention, LGBT migrants have reported trauma-inducing systemic practices and conditions that include: being housed with detainees of a gender with which they dont identify, inadequate medica l care, inadequate mental health resources, detention staff divulging confidential information, segregation placements, and physical and sexual violence. The Rainbow Defense Fund is a Tucson-based group that focuses support for LGBTQ detainees. Through visitations, pen pal letter-writing, and bond support, the Rainbow Defense Fund has led successful campaigns to have LGBTQ detainees released from detention. The Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project provides free legal services and related social services to indigent individuals detained in Arizona for immigration removal proceedings. The Project has assisted LGBT migrants in obtaining political asylum status to lawfully remain in the U.S. The lack of knowledge, resources, improved policy, and political will geared towards this population adds to the health consequences suffered by this group of LGBT individuals and their families. The Rainbow Defense Fund and its supporters recognize that when detention time is minimized, trauma is minimized, and so are negative health consequences.

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Panelist Bios
Ral Alcaraz Ochoa was born in Jalisco, Mxico to two loving parents. Ral grew up in Richmond, California where his struggles as a migrant child fueled his passion for social justice and community power. Ral has organized around educational justice, youth power, queer justice, and migrant rights issues. After graduating from the Ethnic Studies Department at San Francisco State University in 2006, Ral left life and work in the Bay Area to live in the desert/borderland of Tucson, Arizona where he organizes towards LGBTQ and migrant liberation with families and youth. Evident through his work with the Rainbow Defense Fund, the Southside Worker Center and Corazn de Tucson, Ral imagines a world free o f oppression and continuously struggles towards creating a world where many worlds fit. Marco Galdino was born in So Paulo, Brazil. He fled his country due to intense persecution he was experiencing based on his sexual orientation. Marco filed for asylum and was detained in immigration detention for 8 years, until he was finally bonded out last year with the support of the Rainbow Defense Fund. Marco is now an active member of the community providing support for incarcerated people and recently released individuals. He resides in Tucson, AZ. Stephanie Quintana-Martinez was born and raised in Puerto Rico and holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Puerto Rico. After graduating in 2012, Stephanie moved to Arizona. Since then, she worked as a community organizer and volunteer for the Southside Worker Center and the Tucson Protection Network Coalition. She holds experience working with domestic violence and sexual aggression survivors and advocating for womens right at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Since August 2013, Stephanie has been working for the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Project. The Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project is nonprofit organization providing free legal services to men, women, and unaccompanied children detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Arizona where an estimated 86 percent of immigrant detainees go unrepresented. The Florence Project strives to address this inequity through direct service, partnerships with the community, and advocacy and outreach efforts. Stephanie is especially interested in LGBT community members in immigration detention. Frida Espinosa Crdenas is a Latin American woman from Tucson, Arizona. She holds a Masters in Public Health from the National Institute of Public Health (Mexico). She has collaborated with Alliance for Global Justice for the past three years doing work around health, prisons, and human rights, and began to independently study prisons and incarceration as a Social Determinant of Health when she came across the work of Liliany Obando and her collection of testimonies of women and mother political prisoners in Colombia. She has presented her collaborative work in the US, Mexico, Colombia, and Uruguay. She currently is the Cultural Competency and Customer Service Coordinator at CODAC Behavioral Health Services

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Session 14 Why You Need to be Involved in Legislative Advocacy and How to Do It: Advocacy 101 for Behavioral Health Providers
(REPEAT OF Morning Session 2)
Presented by: Bahney Eaton Dedolph, Arizona Council of Human Service Providers Session Abstract
Many people have forgotten the basic civics learned in school a quick refresher is in order. I have found that often we take an apathetic role in our democracy, assuming that all things are black and white without an ability to find middle ground, compromise, and walk across the aisle to create relationships that can help everyone work together more effectively. None of us can do this difficult work alone, and none of us intuitively knows what the effective tools are for community organizing. So lets talk about it! And figure out what role you want to take in the upcoming primary and general elections. This session will cover: How a bill becomes a law and how to stop it How to make friends and get things done with legislators regarding of your (or their) political persuasion How to build effective grassroots advocacy networks How to present effective testimony, create fact sheets, write letters or emails, and get the word out to your network when needed Overview of the last two legislative sessions and the impact (good, bad, and ugly) of bills passed or killed on both behavioral health providers and the LGBTQ community How to figure out who your supporters are, get them into political office in your legislative district, and how to keep them there

Presenter Bio
Bahney Eaton Dedolph joined the Arizona Council of Human Service Providers staff in January 2013 as the Policy Analyst. Bahney received her Bachelors degree in Applied Behavioral Sciences (an NASW approved undergraduate Social Work degree) with an emphasis in Direct Practice and Womens Studies from George Williams College, Masters degree in Sociology with a minor in Anthropology from Texas Tech University, and post graduate certificate in Social Work practice from the University of Denver. Having read the autobiography of Jane Addams at a very young age, Bahney has always considered herself honored to be a Social Worker walking in the very large footsteps of the founder of Hull House. Bahneys work experience runs the gamut from direct practice to systems advocacy to prog ram management and supervision. Much of her early experience was in the domestic violence field working in shelter programs in a variety of capacities. Moving to Arizona in 1996, she became the Director of Public Policy at the Arizona Coalition Against Domestic Violence leading the advocacy efforts of the Coalition. Catholic Charities was Bahneys next challenge, supervising a small satellite office in El Mirage providing community services, counseling, domestic

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violence advocacy, and emergency and transitional housing services. Bahney then joined the team at Fresh Start Womens Resource Center as Operations Manager and worked as a Mobile Crisis Therapist for La Frontera EMPACT-SPC. In between and in her spare time, she taught Policy, Practice, Diversity, and Human Behavior classes in the School of Social Work at ASU.

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Session 15 The Coming Out Process: Working as Therapeutic Allies with LGBTQ Adolescents
Presented by: Carly Heffel, M.S., La Frontera Session Abstract
Coming Out is a unique stressor faced by LGBTQ individuals. This workshop will draw from current research on LGBTQ youth experiences and outcomes with a specific focus on the coming out process. The presentation will identify important therapeutic considerations for working with individuals and family members during the coming out process. Specific recommendations for individual, group, and family treatment will be discussed. The workshop will also invite dialogue about important areas to assess and address when working with LGBTQ clients. Helpful resources for therapists, families, and LGBTQ adolescents will be shared.

Presenter Bio
Carly Heffel, M.S. is a predoctoral psychology SAPIC intern at La Frontera. She obtained her Master of Mental Health Counseling at SUNY Albany in 2005 and is completing her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at the University of North Texas with a focus on Marriage and Family Therapy. Carlys research interests are strongly influenced by attachment theory and family systems work. Her dissertation explored the community context, adolescent grief reactions and online interactions in the aftermath of a suicide cluster. Carly is passionate about working with children and families, adolescents, and LGBTQ populations, which she will be doing over the course of her internship at La Frontera. Outside of school and work, Carly enjoys cooking, travelling, practicing yoga, and occasional retail therapy.

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Session 16 Trans-itional Support for Families and Caregivers of Transgender Youth
Presented By: Mickale Burns, La Frontera/EMPACT-SPC and Tamira Burns, Rebel & Divine Youth Ministry Session Abstract
Much discussion about support for youth who fall under the Trans Umbrella has been focused on the assumption that the youth are estranged from family and affirming support resources must come from outside of the family unit. While this is an unfortunate truth for many LGBTQ youth, it leaves virtually nowhere for supportive, affirming families to get support and information. This workshop will discuss the normal grief and re-introduction process that affirming families go through, explore the information gap and assumptions in the LGBTQ community regarding family dynamics and help to identify resources and care touchstones for mental health providers and agencies that are support of trans youth and trans young adults.

Presenter Bios
Mickale and Tamira Burns are a dedicated married couple with a busy family unit that includes 2 teens and 3 cats. In 2011 the youngest teen disclosed that she wanted to be known by male pronouns, a new name and begin the biologic transition from female to male. So Rowan became Ryan, their daughter started to become a son and the whole family struggled to adjust. What was discovered was a huge disparity of care for families of transitioning youth. In the absence of educated family support, Mickale and Tamira began to examine the co-transition of their family model; documenting the emotional, psychological and communicative responses of the family, and the absence of good care models within traditional therapy, to develop a baseline recommendation of an ecologically focused continuity of care. Mickale Burns has a BA in Sociology with a minor in Psychology. She is actively working on her MSW at USC. Mickale works in the crisis department at La Frontera/ EMPACT-SPC in Maricopa County. She has worked with multiple LGBTQ agencies in the Valley, providing direct services to youth as well as adults and connecting them to resources, treatment and counseling options that are culturally competent to LGBTQ needs. Mickale has served on multiple coalitions as a member and in leadership chair roles. In addition LGBTQ, Mickale works with military Veterans and service members, focused on military sexual trauma (MST). Tamira Burns is an MSW, M.Div. She works as the Learning and Development PM for a Fortune 200 company and volunteers with the Rebel and Divine Youth Ministry through the SW UCC Conference. Tamira is a dedicated wife, mother and cat herder. In her copious amounts of spare time, she gardens and runs a small catering company.

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Session 17 Grief and Loss in the LGBTQ Population: Exploring Disenfranchised Grief
(REPEAT of Morning Session 4)
Presented by: Kara Thieleman, PhD candidate, Arizona State University Session Abstract Using the concept of disenfranchised grief, this workshop will explore challenges faced by members of the LGBTQ population with respect to grief, especially after the death of a partner/spouse or death of a child. This workshop will provide general knowledge by outlining common expressions of grief following the death of a loved one as well as factors known to affect the intensity and duration of grief. The concept of disenfranchised grief will be discussed and applied. Disenfranchised grief has been defined as grief persons experience when they incur a loss that is not or cannot be openly acknowledged, publicly mourned, or socially supported (Doka, 1989, p. 103). In the case of disenfranchised grief, bereaved individuals and their experiences are not recognized by society as meaningful or valid and their grief is often marginalized. Among LGBTQ individuals, key relationships, such as those between intimate partners or parents and their non-biological children, are castigated or dismissed by society; thus, individuals are at increased risk of disenfranchised grief after the death of a loved one. The implications of disenfranchised grief for health and mental health and the possible complications in grieving that can result in the lives of LGBTQ individuals will also be discussed. Finally, ways that health and mental health care providers can provide support to LGBTQ members in the context of grief and loss to promote healing will be addressed. The goal of the workshop is to foster understanding and empathy for the unique grief experiences and challenges of LGBTQ individuals. Presenter Bio Kara Thieleman is a second-year doctoral student in the School of Social Work at Arizona State University. She received her B.A. in sociology/anthropology from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon in 2005 and her MSW from Arizona State University in 2011 with a specialization in adult health and mental health. She also completed ASUs Certificate in Trauma and Bereavement. She has experience as a grief counselor for bereaved parents and families and as a hospice social worker. Her research interests include traumatic loss, grief, death/dying, and mindfulness-based approaches both as a framework for practice for clinicians and as an intervention for clients. Her teaching interests include research methods and an LGBTQ Issues elective. She is a founding member of InQUEERy, an interdisciplinary collaborative of scholars interested in queer research.

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Session 18 Putting Out The Fire of Tobacco/Advancing the Flame of Community: observations and opportunities in the worlds of LGBTQ and tobacco use
Presented By: Erica/Frank Ferguson, Arizona Department of Health Services Session Abstract
Any of us living, working, supporting and learning in LGBTQ communities can be taught how to assist those who want to quit tobacco use. But do you know the stories and themes that have made L, G, B, T and Q individuals disproportionally impacted by Big Tobacco? Do you know how to refer a friend, colleague or consumer for help? What messages, resources and activities can we use for true social change around LGBTQ tobacco cessation? Do you have questions or insight on products currently being marketed and used? Please join us for this session as we discuss these themes and view Tobacco through a health equity lens. This is an open discussion, and participants are welcome regardless of your relationship status with tobacco or role(s) in the workplace! Smokers, current or past, never-smokers, and anyone from service consumers to executivesthe greater the diversity of our talk, the more we will learn from each other. In our 90 minutes together we will: Learn and discuss the basics of tobacco and cessation, and what we know about rates of use in LGBTQ groups Look at and reflect upon ways that targeted marketing have shaped the Gay communitys relationship with Big Tobacco Learn about quit-assist options that work, and how to refer to local assistance (for those of us in Arizona, the ASHLine) for one-on-one assistance Explore best practices for social change, using the pride and identities in our communities towards our own public health Learn from each other: what has worked? What challenges us? By the close of the session you will be able to: Understand and pass along what you have learned about the impact of the fire of tobacco Be an advocate to advance the pride and flame of community by suppor ting cessation efforts and media campaigns

Presenter Bio
Erica (aka Frank) Ferguson is a proud native of Tucson and current resident of Phoenix. In a departure from the desert, Erica attended and received an undergraduate degree from Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. There two years of Russian led quickly into other interests and she finished with a degree in Cultural Anthropology and a focus in Gender and Womens Studies. For Erica, the passion for HIV and LGBTQ issues that started as an undergrad has led to a career path supporting these communities in many ways. Erica has a Masters in Social

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Work from ASU and worked in direct practice behavioral health settings before transitioning to public health. She is active in several LGBTQ-related groups and continuing projects, including acting as the co-chair for an LGBTQ behavioral advisory group at the state health department. Erica worked for 15+ years in the HIV/AIDS field, most recently at the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) doing HIV Prevention community-level planning. Erica now holds a position in the ADHS Tobacco program, addressing doing tobacco cessation work within the LGBTQ and other disparate communities. Erica shares that she will respond to either Erica or Frank, seeing the former as the default setting and name-at-birth and the latter as both a nickname and affirmation of NOT liking to choose one in or the other when gender is presented in the binary.