WOMEN OF A CERTAIN AGE SUPPORTS GIRLFRIENDS
WOACA’s vision is a community in which all older women have the knowledge, skill and self-confidence to develop and sustain healthy relationships.
WOACA's Mission STATEMENT
WOACA's mission is to empower women, to educate them with skills to develop and sustain healthy relationships, and to support other women in this quest.
WOACA Values and Guiding Principles
We believe:
health care and knowledge is a basic human right,
women deserve access to relevant healthcare information regardless of race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, economic status,
and communities are strengthened by collaborative efforts.
In October 2009, Jacki Gethner was awarded Kaiser Permanente's national diversity award for her work starting in 1987 in the communities of HIV/AIDS.
That award helped to create Women of a Certain Age.
Since then, Jacki has worked tirelessly and creatively to educate and help to create an open opportunity for older women to age smarter, healthier and happier than generations past.
This isn’t always an easy task…
Announcing "The Girlfriend Guide":
A RESOURCE FOR AGING GRACEFULLY & PROACTIVELY
"The Girlfriend Guide" is a resource developed to make sure that women have the ability to feel self-confident as they age. From learning how to get support, tend to medical needs, and cultivate new friendships, this guide raises important questions and offers suggestions for self-care for women of a certain age.
This guide is being offered as a training for agencies to create similar materials for your population and as a fundraiser for your community.
WOACA Patient Survey Results
The WOACA Patient Survey is now completed and we would love to share the results with you! Click below to see our findings:
BEHIND DOOR #3: Choose with Your Eyes Wide Open
by Jacki Gethner
"an engaging choose-your-own-adventure book as fun as it is educational." — POZ magazine
When 64-year-old Ann decides to try online dating, she finds both romance and one-night stands on the menu... Meanwhile, when the two-years clean and sober Beth attends a convention, she has the unexpected opportunity to party. What choices will these and two other women in the book make? You, the reader, can decide in Jacki Gethner's Behind Door #3: Choose With Your Eyes Wide Open, an engaging choose-your-own-adventure book that's as fun as it is educational.
HOW WOACA WAS STARTED
Jacki Gethner (LMT, Certified Alcohol & Drug counselor, 1998-2019), was the sole recipient of a national diversity award from Kaiser Permanente in 2009 and founded Women of a Certain Age. The $10,000 monetary award has been used to help support girlfriends to improve their relationships and thus improve their health and livelihood.
She has won numerous awards since then and has been interviewed both in print and on the radio on related subjects.
More About Jacki Gethner
Jacki Gethner, a resident of Portland, Oregon is a renowned international health advocate, activist and educator. In 1987, she launched her practice Regenerative Therapies and she possesses over three decades of experience in counseling and bodywork. Jacki has a history in the field of HIV/AIDS where she has worked in collaboration with many civic and government agencies, health educators, faith-based organizations and pharmaceutical companies.
Jacki is recognized as a pioneer and seasoned healer in working with trauma and long term chronic/terminal illnesses with families and vulnerable communities through the use of integrative therapies.
Jacki's work with WOACA gives her many opportunities to educate and inspire, and her approach includes blunt and respectful conversation around sensitive topics including intimate relationships, sexual behaviors, the importance of Hepatitis C testing and treatment, and self esteem as it plays into all of the above.
She is known for her playful style and keep-it-real perspective, removing the stigma on these topics and encouraging others to feel safe in discussion.
She often presents on topics such as speaking up for oneself in other aspects of one's life including one's healthcare — covering areas mental, physical, and emotional — with providers, family members, friends and acquaintances.
Her goal is for her message to be spread through you to other women in your life, and to give you the tools and support to have more ease in having conversations around these challenging topics with the people you care about.