Herland Sister Resources

A new website looks to help LGBT cigarette smokers quit. Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) recently launched iQuit, a free Internet-based smoking treatment study for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) smokers.

This study comes on the heels of research showing high rates of smoking in the LGBT community. In some parts of the community, LGBT smoking rates can be as much as 50% higher than their heterosexual counterparts. This, along with the fact that smoking kills more people each year than HIV/AIDS, car accidents, and drug and alcohol use combined, makes smoking treatment programs an emerging public health priority for LGBT individuals.

The study will compare two Internet-based smoking treatments: one that provides general information that has been helpful in a variety of smoking treatment programs, another that includes the general information plus information and support designed especially for an LGBT audience. Smokers will be randomly selected to participate in one or the other. Researchers hope to enroll 600 participants over the course of a year. The purpose of the study is to determine if either treatment results in higher rates of use, more quit attempts, or higher quit rates.

iQuit is unique in offering participants cessation services that are highly convenient and private. LGBTs can access the site’s resources any time of day, from multiple locations, and their participation is kept confidential. To be eligible for the study, individuals must be 18 years of age or older and identify as LGBT.

For more information about this study, visit the iQuit website.

If you would like posters, flyers, or postcards to display in your community, please contact Anthony Taylor at taylora@itsa.ucsf.edu or by calling toll free at 866-895-8050.)

Wendy Allyn, singer and songwriter, will be performing at Church of the Open Arms, located at 3131 N. Pennsylvania, on Saturday, August 21st at 7:30 pm. There is a suggested donation of $5 to $15 with all proceeds to benefit Church of the Open Arms.

California-born, Oklahoma-grown, Wendy Allyn writes songs that combine the stable and sturdy traits of a prairie farmer with a breezy West Coast attitude. Solid lyrics float on shamelessly hummable melodies. Her debut album, Catalina Days, offered a showcase of her songwriting skill. The album received extremely positive reviews. Since that recording was released, Wendy has traveled the country, living for a while in the Northeast, a while in California, and some time in Hawaii.

Wendy’s songs cover the gamut of the human experience, from family ties to social issues. Characters in her songs come to life in succinct composite sketches, drawn with lyrical pictures. Like a good storyteller, Wendy gets her listeners involved in the songs from the first line and keeps them hanging until the last note. You’ll believe that she lived every minute of the tales she tells — and you’ll be right.

For more information, contact Church of the Open Arms UCC at 525-9555.

Herland is seeking poetry, cartoons, and short essays/stories for a special issue of the Voice in late Fall 2004. Submissions may be sent via snail mail or electronic mail (preferred but not required). Acceptable electronic formats include, plain text e-mail, MS Word, and MS Publisher. If you want a byline published with your entry, specify this with your submission and indicate how you want your name printed. We will not assume you want your name printed and will not do it without your written permission.

Fifty plus One
Fifty plus One is a grassroots organization training pro-choice women in the electoral campaign skills necessary to successfully run for local, state, and national offices. By recruiting women at the grassroots level, we will be reaching out to unleash the potential of thousands of women who otherwise might never consider running for public office. Fifty plus One is a non-profit, non-partisan organization.