Appalachian shOUT, which stands for Appalachian Sexual Health Outreach, is a collective impact initiative that aims to engage community systems to support youth wellbeing and sexual health. Listening circles are the first step in this work.

Listening circles give participants a chance to share their lived experience without contradiction or judgment. They support honesty and nurture compassion in an atmosphere of safety and equity. We hope they will help us better understand the needs of Appalachian youth and how we can all empower them with information and support to make informed decisions about sexual health.

During this training participants learn:

• How to build and center a group agreement

• Why we are conducting listening circles

• About the questions we are asking

• How the listening circle process works

• How a listening circle is different from a workshop–and why that is important

• The roles and responsibilities of facilitators, notetakers, and caretakers

• Tools for keeping the listening circle on track

• How and why to use the consent/assent forms

• How to submit information gathered.

Please preregister for this training and pass this information on to other organizations that might be interested in working with us.

The training will be held on Zoom.

Whether you are able to train as a facilitator or not, please let us know if you have contact with a group of youth who might be interested in participating in this listening circle project. Listening circles can be held either in person or online.