Metra Issue 960 - DEC 2022

Mental health professionals (3 full time therapists, 1 care coordinator, and 14 graduate interns) have expanded our Behavioral Health department, tripling our program's capacity in the past 12 months.

AFFIRMATIONS BY THE NUMBERS 2022

people have used our center in 2022.

Your support allows us to stand up programs and expand services that support the health and wellbeing of our community.

Affirmations’ COVID Vaccine Project has partnered with 29 organizations across the state including 14 LGBTQ+ centers, 4 health departments, and 3 medical/hospital services. This was made possible through the largest grant received in Affirmations' history.

of youth graduates (ages 13-22) from the Youth Leadership and Workforce Development Program selfreported having improved social confidence in workforce navigation, increased knowledge of problem-solving, and critical thinking.

Hey Cuties!

Happy Holidays! Have you been wanting to buy a home, but you fear the current rise in interest rates? It’s totally understandable but let’s break it down. Comparing 6 months ago to today, the asking price for homes have stayed strong but the number of willing buyers has significantly decreased. With that said, houses are selling for less than the asking price as sellers are more desperate to find a buyer. A house sold 6 months ago would have sold on average for 10% above the asking price whereas today houses are selling on average 10% below the asking price. Take advantage of this while you still can before more willing buyers enter the market as we bring on the new year. Have a great holiday season and I will see ya next year!

Always remember, homeownership can be the first step to financial freedom and it’s more accessible than you think. I am more than happy to help get you started on buying your first home! Check out my TikTok for more Real Estate tips, @realtorkory or contact me today for all your real estate needs! Email, text, or call because I do it all! My email has changed, please discard kory@jsarealtor.com and update to my fabulous new address: Kory@KorVanRealty.com

-Kory Lambarth

Around Town

As we get full swing into the winter months, it’s important to keep a few things in mind when living with your House In Virginia. With cold temperatures, brings those nasty viruses – colds, flu, and Covid. While doctors and scientists have maintained that being undetectable allows for a normal life expectancy, we do still need to be vigilant. It’s important to stave off these minor ailments so that they don’t turn into larger ones for those with compromised immune systems. Always follow your doctor or medical provider’s advice and be sure to stay current on your vaccines. And for those who are not living with HIV, be considerate, not just to those living with HIV, but to everyone. Keep your germs at home, get vaccinated, and respect others who may decline an invite or feel uncomfortable in a germy setting. Let’s not let winter ruin all of our fun here at our House In Virginia!

Aries: Winter depression hits your kind of like how your stepdad used to (safe word is honor roll). Is it 4pm? Is it midnight? Look at your phone, dummy. Although it starts getting dark around 4pm, that gives you a lot more nighttime to play. Do you want to build a snow man? No. Make sure you drink some hot cocoa and wear that scarf your nanna knitted you (it’s the perfect material to absorb all the kids off your face that don’t end up in your mouth).

Taurus: December always makes you think of your youth. From caroling to driving around the wealthier neighbor hoods to look at lights, to getting some ropes shot all over your face from the mall Santa Claus on break. It was a time for comradery and semi-frequent trips to the clinic. No, your dick shouldn’t be glowing like Rudolph’s nose. It won’t be guiding any sleigh tonight, ya crazy!

Gemini: Snowball fights with your bros, sleighing down the hill you’re not supposed to go down and using the tur key baster for non-turkey basting things. Those are a few of your favorite things. Make sure that you wear your harness, your chaps and your leather daddy hat all underneath your thermal wear and that Carhartt coat your “other” daddy gave you.

Cancer: Winter months can be chal lenging for you, since you really enjoy being around people. That’s why you gotta get committed and make these hook up’s earn you more points. Is this a Pokémon tournament? Nah, chile’. It’s just you trying to be able to feel again.

Don’t forget to bring 1-2 sets of gloves. No one wants a hand job from frosty the snow whore.

Leo: Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, 2-3 different twinkie winkies giv ing you a cream pie. It’s finally stopped snowing, so you can head outside and rip some tree trunks with your bare hands (thank you tik-tok!). Grow your beard out, wear some plaid, throw them worker boots on and go explore the win ter tundra girl.

Virgo: It’s one of your favorite times of the year. You get to be as anti-social as you want to. You can organize, re organize and organize to your heart’s content. Then, you can call over a gen tleman caller to get your halls decked. Stop trying to take everyone’s tempera ture before you sit on their face. Just get a flu shot like everyone else around.

Libra: You get invited up north to go snow blowing. You arrive and you have had a huge misunderstanding. You’re going to have some alone time to be the best version of you. However, it’s forcing you to revisit some trauma, so you keep fapping to make the pain go away. Go wash your face, you whore!

Scorpio: You’ve been trying to put those Christmas lights up for some time. You’ve climbed plenty of men like a lad der, so how hard could it be? Actually, it’s quite hard. Not that, ya filthy skank. You’ve almost fallen twice, so it might be time to hire someone to put the lights up for you, that way you can sit on the ground and supervise. But watch it! You might get a knuckle sandwich if you bark

up the wrong tree.

Sagittarius: It snowed enough for you to make some snow angels and build that snowman of your dreams. You ate the carrot off his face and, in stead of putting the jockstrap on frosty with the biggest eggplant you stole from Walmart, that piece is going upstairs to make you sing a different Christmas carol!

Capricorn: You’re trying to discon nect some from technology, so you call your crush/fuck friend to do some win tertime activities in the house. Decorate a gingerbread house. Just make sure you decorate it like the huge pink fruit cake that you are. Be sure everything dries before you eat it up, you don’t want your visitor to have sprinkles on his dong when he pulls out from your fireplace.

Aquarius: Spend some time at the soup kitchen, visit some random senior at the senior center & help collect items for the family’s house that burned down the street. After all it’s the least you can do, since you fell asleep while smoking on their patio. Just stay away from some of the hobos. It doesn’t matter how hot you think they are; the smell will com pletely turn your innie into an outtie.

Pisces: You’re normally more of a bah-humbug kinda gal. But this year, you’re really in the holiday mood. You’ve even been getting up extra early, snow blowing some of your neighbors and oc casionally shoveling their walks. It’s all a part of your master plan, since they don’t have any family and, in your mind, you’re going to be in their will someday.

Holiday Hookup

Christmas Eve is a time for family, friends, and giving back… And hooking up?

It was the early 2000’s and social media was in its infancy. A guy I met on MySpace had invited me over to his place. We were still in our teens, maybe early 20s, so I had to wait for his parents to fall asleep and sneak through the bedroom window.

It was definitely after midnight and I was in my pajamas when I snuck over. At one point we heard his parents get up to deliver Santa’s gifts to his younger siblings under the tree.

Luckily for me, I had already emptied my sack…. Just like Santa Clause

Michael's Ad

Interested

The Risks and Rewards of the Gay Hookup Culture

Let’s face it: Given the chance, most men, gay or straight, would probably prefer to have their sexual encounters be uncomplicated and only transactional. When we’re horny our first thoughts are not about getting to know a potential sexual partner—who they are inside or what they like or their life goals. We just want to know if they’ll let us have sex with them.

Why? Maybe because in our culture men are taught to suppress our emotions, to be tough and goal oriented. We are socialized more to focus on our penis than on our emotions. We meet someone who turns us on and we zero in on them like a heatseeking missile. Risky? Of course, but most of our fears take a back seat to our drive to get laid. This especially is true in the gay community. Decades before we had the internet and hookup apps like Grindr and SCRUFF, gay men found numerous ways of having anonymous sex, whether by calling a number left on a bathroom stall or trolling fertile grounds for sexual encounters. It was a risky activity then and is even more so today. Back then it took some time and effort to make contact or avoid being arrested or mugged. It was a slower process. Nowadays all it takes is a quick swipe on our phone. We only find out whether someone is a top, a bottom,

or a side, what their genitals look like, and we’re off to have sex with them, most likely in their home.

Disease and potential violence aren’t the only reasons a little more cautious attitude is called for nowadays. In my therapy practice and in studies I read I find that erectile dysfunction it is all too common with gay men, even more so than with straight men. It is nearly impossible for a flaccid penis to work its way into someone’s anus, and the most common reason is a lack of feeling safe in the encounter. Is this person safe? Does he even care about me getting off too, or is he only in it for himself? Without a feeling of safety, pleasure goes right out the window, while the chance of having satisfactory sex goes up exponentially when we feel safe.

I’m not suggesting gay men must begin to be more relational in their approach to sex, although many I talk to seem to want this. But wouldn’t it be wise to tap the brakes a little before jumping into a sexual encounter that might be a waste of your time or even dangerous? Maybe having an actual conversation or meeting at a restaurant or coffee shop first, taking more time to know who the person is?

Joe Kort, Ph.D., LMSW AASECT Certified Sex Therapist & Supervisor of Sex Therapy

Do you know what you’re getting into?

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Performer’s Name

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Home Area

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Time Doing Drag Contact By/ Social Media

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Aliya Holmes Metro Detroit Liberty Bar10 Years Aliyaholmes2017@gmail.com

April Evangelista Grand Rapids Mary’s GR30 Years Insta, FB & TikTok

Artemis Knight Battle Creek Music Factory4 Years Insta & FB

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Baby Boi Battle Creek Floats 13 Years Insta & FB

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Deja D. Dellataro Toledo Georgjz41918 Years Insta & FB

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