Our Mission
Our mission is to help people understand social-sexual behaviors within an ecological framework and offer innovative strategies, skills and solutions.
Our Professional Philosophy
The guiding philosophy of Among Friends’ Social-Sexual Support Services is that every person, regardless of their life situation, needs and deserves accurate, comprehensive, and dignified information regarding sexuality, relationships, and their bodies in order to make informed decisions and live their fullest potential.
Our values regarding our services are adapted from the Our Whole Lives Comprehensive Sexuality Curriculum:
- Every person is entitled to dignity and self-worth
- Every person is entitled to their own attitudes and beliefs
- Every person deserves support in making their own decisions
- Every person deserves to be in safe, healthy relationships. Healthy relationships are:
- Consensual
- Non-exploitative
- Safe
- Developmentally appropriate
- Based on mutual expectations and caring
- Respectful
- Every person is entitled to fully explore their sexuality, relationships, and their body
- Every person is sexual and sexuality is a positive part of the human experience
- Sexuality includes much more than sexual behavior(s)
- Human beings are sexual from the time they are born until they die
- Sexuality in our society is damaged by violence, exploitation, alienation, dishonesty, abuse of power, and the treatment of persons as objects
If these values resonate with you then Among Friends’ social-sexual support services may be the right fit for you, or your loved one. Please peruse the rest of our site for more information.
Our Social-Sexual Support Services
Our services are designed to help people understand and support healthy social-sexual behaviors and sexual self-determination within an ecological framework using innovative strategies, skills, and solutions.
We help address the needs of people who do not always know how to advocate for themselves, as well as support the families and professionals who work with them day in and day out. We look forward to collaborating with you so you can best serve the people you support with passion and dedication!
Our Expertise
Our specialty is helping people with everything related to:
- Bodies - body parts, bodily functions, body image
- Gender - exploring gender identity / expression, transitioning
- Sexuality - orientation, self-pleasuring, activities, risky behaviors
- Relationships - friendship, dating, partnership, breaking up
- Communication - boundaries and consent
- Rights - self determination and supported decision-making
- Trauma - sexual trauma, sexually maladaptive behaviors, trauma-informed care
- And Other Related Topics – sexuality and technology, healthy sexual development, safety and legalities…and much, much, more!!!
Our Primary Goals
Our agency's work is grounded in the following goals:
- support the whole person and their full human experience
- promote safe, healthy, legal, and situationally appropriate behaviors
- help people meet their basic human needs and protect their legal rights
- improve their quality of life and increase their independence
We help people manage their behaviors in ways that allow them to maintain their services, housing, access to school, jobs, community inclusion and so much more!
Our Clients
We work with people who experience intellectual and/or developmental disabilities, neurodiversity, a traumatic brain injury, sexually maladaptive behaviors, mental health issues, and more!
We also work with the people who support them - including: parents and families, foster care providers, case management staff, direct support professionals, and special education teachers, medical and mental health professionals.
Our Community Partners
We have contracted and collaborated with a variety of organizations, including:
- Foster Care Providers and Provider Agencies/Organizations
- School Districts and Transition Programs
- Medical and Mental Health Providers
- Child Welfare and CASA Advocates
- Juvenile Justice, Defense Lawyers, Parole Officers, and Judges
- State Disability Services Departments and State Ombudsman Departments
- …and many, many more.
We are located in Oregon, USA. However, we have worked extensively with organizations throughout Oregon and Washington, several organizations in multiple other states, and we are available to collaborate with organizations throughout the U.S. and around the world!