Julie Richards:  

tion from Western, I worked in London doing home support type of stuff, but wasn't feeling very satisfied with it. So, I packed my bags and moved to Vancouver Island. I spent 5 years working for the North Island AIDS Coalition - doing support with people infected with HIV/AIDS and also teaching sex ed in the schools and at the college. I then moved on to Vancouver where I was the Program Coordinator/Executive Director for Youthquest! It is a provincial organization that runs drop-in programs for queer youth all over B.C. I was responsible for the 7 drop-ins in the Lower Mainland area and then become ED, so was responsible for everything! Aaaahh! I was also working for the Elizabeth Fry Society in a half-way house for womyn who had been released from prison on day parole. That was quite the experience and I learned alot! I moved to Saskatoon in January 2002, and have had a few jobs since I got here, but am now permanently employed. I worked at AIDS Saskatoon for a few months on a contract to write funding proposals. I finished a contract with Save The Children Canada. I was working with 4 youth who were exploited in the sex trade. We did some job skills training and life skills building with them. I've been working full-time at The Avenue Community Centre for Gender & Sexual Diversity since February 2002 as the "Director of Community Programs", so I run the drop-in for youth and also do education in the schools/university about homophobia/heterosexism. I'm now also running a project about domestic violence in lesbian relationships, so I'm doing training with local service providers and a community awareness campaign. That's it for now. Who knows where the path will take me next!