1000 series: Sisterhood
I figure it's been eons since I made a 1000 series post. Now's a decent time to make one.
For the group I run we have every participant complete an anonymous evaluation after every session. What you see above is a shot of one of the evals I received for the last session of the cycle I completed last Thursday.
During one of the last exercises we asked them to state something they'd gotten from the group. I was expecting them to say anything from "I learned about the female condom" to "how to talk to my man about using protection" to "I learned you can pass STDs to your unborn child." Instead EVERY participant (excluding one person who had to leave early) said this was the first time they'd felt a sense of community with other women. That they'd had few or no female friends in the past because they viewed other women as "catty," "conniving," "shady," (you know, the usual bull we get taught). That this group helped them to foster connections with other women and a sense of sisterhood.
I know "developing sisterhood" is not a "measurable," nor "billable" item. I know it is not directly related to preventing the spread of HIV nor STDs/STIs as far as my funder is concerned. But I can think of few things I'm more proud of whether relating to the group or my entire career thus far.