Gay Okanagan Network
Please check out Research Projects ... farther down this page
The Gay Okanagan Network (gayokanagan.net) is a lesbian owned and operated web site. Not affiliated with any specific lgbt organization, nor is it associated with any other gayokanagan website. This portal serves the purpose of providing an unbiased, trustworthy, source of news, events, and information for the entire LGBT community in the Thompson-Okanagan. A great resource for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans information for residents, visitors, and people moving to the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, Canada.
If you are looking for community events please go to the events page . If you would like to submit and event please contact info@gayokanagan.net .
TECHNOCENTRIC - You've all heard of ethnocentric? If not you might want to look it up. An interesting phenomena happening now is techno-centric -- people who tend to have a strong perspective based on the the technology they and their friends use. For example some people who use Facebook / Twitter / etc. make an assumption that everyone uses the same technology, so they assume everyone sees their posts and messages. Unfortunately, especially from a marketing perspective, this is not true.
With that in mind The Gay Okanagan Network feels it is providing an information service that is available to anyone on the internet, is not subscriber based, and does not acquire your personal information in the background to be used by third parties. It is a service to the community.
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Please be aware this web site does not contain porn it is about support, news, events, and connections for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, transexual community in the Thompson Okanagan area of British Columbia.
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(2016)
Project To Improve the Delivery of Services to Trans People Interested in Accessing Gender-Affirming Surgeries
We are a team of health researchers from the University of British Columbia working in partnership with the Trans Care BC program at the Provincial Health Services Authority to improve the delivery of services to trans people who are interested in accessing gender-affirming surgeries. The Principal Investigator of this project is Dr. Elizabeth Saewyc (Elizabeth.saewyc@ubc.ca).
It is a priority for us to make sure that the voices of trans people are heard in the process so we are conducting interviews about people’s experiences of accessing gender-affirming surgeries in British Columbia. The results of this research will contribute to efforts to improve existing systems of care for people of all genders.
Interviews will last from 60-90 minutes at a mutually agreed upon location in your area and will cover a range of topics, including the experiences with surgery readiness assessments, wait time for surgery, experiences with surgery and recovery as well as outcomes of surgery.
Our goal with this research project is to gather information on a wide diversity of experiences with the surgery and assessment process in British Columbia so not everyone who contacts us will be interviewed. If you or someone you know are interested in participating in this study and they live in BC, have undergone a readiness assessment for gender-affirming surgery or have had any gender-affirming surgery in the last 5 years, and are able to participate in an interview in English, please contact our post-doctoral fellow Hélène Frohard-Dourlent by emailing saravyc@nursing.ubc.ca or calling at 778 968 6159.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call or contact through email.
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(2010)
I am in the process of collecting stories from
people who have attempted to commit suicide and also from people who have had
very strong suicidal thoughts but who have decided not to commit to those
thoughts. I want to give a voice to these individuals as I believe that their
stories will become a powerful catalyst in potentially saving the life of a
person who may be in the throes of suicide. I want to listen to ANY PERSON who chooses to share.
Thank you very much, Linda MacGillivray
250-717-5950
Thank you very much, Linda MacGillivray
250-717-5950
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(2008)
Another Study to consider participating in.
Recruiting older same-sex couples to participate in our study on issues/concerns about entering the long-term care system...we still require a few more couples to participate in our study. Would you please circulate the recruitment letter amongst your listserv or post in your
organization.
Best regards,
Robert Cosby, Research Assistant
McMaster University
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(2007)
Health Study of Lesbian and Gay Senior Couples Health Care:
Please participate or forward this information to same sex couples
(male or female) over 55 years of age, who may be able to help in a
study about the needs of older same sex couples in regard to health
care/home care/long term care. The research group are having difficulty
connecting with aging same-sex couples and community organizations that
provide services. If you know of someone who fits this criteria and
would like to participate please either forward this email to them or
print it out and give the recruitment letter to them in order to make
traditional contact with the researchers.
Please read the recruitment letter which outlines the project and
includes contact information for the student researcher as well as the
principal investigator. Recruitment Letter If you have trouble
downloading the letter contact info@gayokanagan.net for another
format (pdf. or html). * Here is the link to the McMaster Research
Ethics Board Website with ethics approval for this project (Scroll down
to project number: 2006 037): http://iserv.mcmaster.ca/ethics/mreb/public/mreb_approved.cfm?sorter=Faculty%20ASC
* Here is the link to the McMaster web page of Dr. J. Gladstone's who is the supervisor of student researcher Robert Cosby: http://www.socsci.mcmaster.ca/socwork/faculty/gladstone.cfm
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Some other links to get you started:
Fun: Are you a QuirkyAlone Type ... take the quizz.http://www.socialjusticeresearch.com/ Please participate in a study that seeks to document some of the attitudes you feel others hold toward
lesbian women and gay men, as well as some of the behaviours you may
have experienced on account of your sexual orientation and/or gender
identity The principal researcher is Melanie Morrison, Co-Chair of the Canadian Psychological Association’s Section on Sexual
Orientation and Gender Identity, and also Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of
Saskatchewan. This study received ethical approval from the University of
Saskatchewan Behavioural Sciences Research Ethics Board on January 11,
2006.
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Canadian Rainbow Health Coalition (Outlive Homophobia campaign - also found in our youth links.)
The following information pertains to the work of the Canadian Rainbow Health Coalition and the work they have been doing nationally to address the health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The information in the attached letter may be of interest to you and others that you know who are doing work related to health and LGBT communities. It also includes links to their website with new health resources that have been developed by community-based groups across the country. Please forward this to any others who might be interested. Canadian Rainbow Health Coalition => English.Pdf / French.Pdf
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Coming Out Can reduce Sexual Prejudice: Heterosexuals with personal contact to lesbians and gays have more positive feelings toward Lesbians and Gay men according to a survey done by the University of California at Davis. Here is the URL for that article (http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/comeout1.html this will open in it's own window).
This is not to suggest that people
should come out if they fear for their safety but it is a heads up not
to allow fear mongering and scare tactics to achieve the purpose that
some homophobics want ... to scare us deeper into the closet!
Other Information from U of C at Davis:
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Canadians for Equal Marriage News (http://www.equal-marriage.ca/news.php)
Canadians for Equal Marriage News (http://www.equal-marriage.ca/news.php)
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Take Action when the Census comes to your door the new government wants your to report as "other" than a marriage. (EGALE article)
Check out EGALE forother information
EGALE information
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** Please Be Aware: The Gay Okanagan Network is here as a souce of information and service for the community. We will not share your information with anyone. We will never add you to Facebook, MySpace or any other social networking site. We will not sell your information to third parties. We do not use Doman cloaking or Site cloaking to hide where our true site originates from. We do not use Google adware, stats, or sites to gather information from you to further target you. What you see is what you get.
Our business directory is direct to you from the vendor and it is your choice to avail yourself of their products or services. We do not gather information about you for them, but to their credit they are offering services specifically for YOU.