The YWCA Gender-Based Violence Specialized Services Department is ecstatic to announce that Be Not Afraid of Love, our third cohort of The Healing Chapter emotional support group series, is launching next Thursday, October 3rd, from 6:30-8:00 PM!

Attached is the flyer for the group, which any women-identified survivor of gender-based violence who is 18+ and resides in King and Snohomish Counties is welcome to enroll in. We are offering it as a primarily virtual service (via Zoom), with the exception of an in-person event(s) upon completion of the book. The participants of our previous cohort, The Dance of Anger, selected "Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection" by Mimi Zhu as the book that we will be exploring in group over the next two months. 

Please note that the structure of this group is not a book club— as in, we will never require participants to do readings nor assign "homework" to be completed in advance of or after sessions. Rather, Val and I will read chapters ahead of sessions and bring key quotes, themes, and ideas to them for survivors to lead discussions around. 

We also encourage folks to participate in whatever capacity they are able to (i.e., cameras turned off, changed usernames, use of the chat feature, partial attendance, etc.). We want this space to be as accessible as possible, so no one should ever have to worry about missed sessions putting them at a disadvantage to attend and engage in future ones!

If folks know any individuals who are interested in joining, please provide me with their contact information so we can set up an intake appointment with them, as this is a required step for the utilization of client services. I can be reached by email at jfernandez@ywcaworks.org or by call and text at (206) 683-0484.