The “Just Healing Training” Program

Recognizing the documented efficacy of comprehensive sexual health education (CSHE) in improving sexual health and decreasing interpersonal violence, the “Just Healing Training” (JHT) Program addresses a number of curricular/competency gaps and educational access barriers, particularly for minoritized communities. It’s level of focus is on training community health workers and sexuality educators, so that they can implement their own projects and programs in their home communities.

Developed by Heal Sweet Home’s Co-Executive Directors, Ignacio G Hutía Xeiti Rivera, M.A. (they/them) and Aredvi Azad (they/them), the program is structured in three consecutive levels (101, 201, 301), delivered virtually in small cohorts, and integrates liberatory relational practices with anti-oppressive frameworks to create a shame-free and inclusive learning environment.

The core of the training is The Rivera-Azad Sexual Healing Integration Model (RASHIM), an intersectional roadmap that emphasizes a cyclical process of healing, encompassing safety, exploration, and acceptance, while underscoring the necessary interpersonal, institutional, and systemic change efforts that make healing a reality for minoritized survivors.

This project is currently in the development stage. We intend to bring together a small cohort of leaders from community organizations, sexuality educators, and health workers, to work on a project planning grant.

At the conclusion of the implementation planning period, we hope to pilot a 3-year, design-based implementation research (DBIR) project to pilot the JHT Program and measure its impact. Specifically, we would assess:

  1. Implementation Efficacy: What are the facilitators and barriers to the successful implementation of the JHT Program?

  2. Implementation Usefulness, Adaptability, and Acceptability: How useful, adaptable, acceptable and relevant is the JHT Program to Training Program fellows (e.g. community and organizational practitioners and educators)?

  3. Social-Emotional Learning Outcomes: Does participation in community-based and organizational programming informed by the JHT Program lead to significant self-reported improvements in social and emotional learning (e.g., self-awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision-making) among community member participants?

  4. Sexual Health Literacy Outcomes: Does participation in community-based and organizational programming informed by the JHT Program lead to significant increases in self-reported sexual health literacy (e.g., understanding of consent, healthy relationships, sexual pleasure, and navigating misinformation) among participants?