 Hi, welcome to the All Things LGBTQ Interview Show where we interview LGBTQ guests who are making important contributions to our communities. All Things LGBTQ is taped at Orca Media in Montpelier, Vermont, which we recognize as being unceded indigenous land. Thanks for joining us and enjoy the show. Hey everyone, I'm here with Isabelle Del Rosal and she is a famous, I would say at this point, filmmaker. And so All Things LGBTQ is really happy to have her on the show. How are you, Isabelle? Hi, thank you. It's so nice to be here and so nice to get to chat with you and and share news about the film with your community. Well, I loved your film. I loved your film. It was great. Thank you. And so let's talk a little bit about, let's let the audience know a little bit about you. I'm going to read your bio. So we'll have a place to start. Isabelle Del Rosal is a Brooklyn based writer, director, shooter, editor, and narrative docu-style industrial and promotional and has promotional experience who creates dynamic promotional videos for corporations, nonprofits, artists, and entrepreneurs. She has written, directed, and edited a handful of short films, two seasons of sketch comedy web series, Smile for the Camera. And in early 2020, completed her first feature film, Walk with Me, which has won the Spirit Award and Best Actor at Brooklyn Film Festival 2021, Best Emerging Director at Manhattan Film Festival 2021, Best LGBTQ Feature at Lady Filmmaker Film Festival Best Feature at New York International Women's Film Festival, and Best Female Composer at Toronto's International Women's Film Festival. Walk with Me has been nominated for Best English Language Film, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Original Screenplay at this year's Madrid International Film Festival, and nominated for Best Feature at Wicked Queer and Best Emerging Director at St. Louis International Film Festival. So that's really quite a resume. So tell me, did you, you know, when did you decide to be a filmmaker? I mean, did you always really interested in film? Or did you just wake up one day and say, you know, I don't know, I'm bored. And I think maybe I'll try this or so what happened? I guess as a kid, there were no limits in my home, which was lovely. We went to the video store and rented VHSs all the time. And I was, I loved horror film mostly. But I loved all kind of kind of film. And I still do. So I love blockbuster films down to the little smallest art film. But it was really, you know, in a senior year of high school, where you're supposed to decide what you're going to do with your life and all that. Where I was like, I have no idea which most people don't. And I started to look through the pamphlets, the college admissions pamphlets. And I kept zeroing in on film and TV and film and TV. And then it was just very clear to me. I was always writing as a kid. And I was always doodling. Like I had a visual component to my storytelling. So it just all of a sudden, yeah, in that process, I was like, I want to move to New York City. And I want to be a filmmaker. And I didn't go to film school. I went to a communications program that was very new at NYU at the time, that offered very little in the way of anything film related. So I just I took a crash course summer filmmaking class. And then after that, I just picked up a camera, I bought a camera from a pig farmer on eBay. And it was priced well, because I think people didn't trust, you know, so dirty, probably. And it was dirty. But but yeah, I just started making making things. And that's that's what I've been doing. I love it. It's my passion is my happiness. What's that? Were you in Miami or had you moved by then? I was in New York City. Miami is where is the home base where most of my family lives. But I only live there as a baby as a baby. Yeah, but I've I've gone back my entire life. Yeah. And you're and you're based in Brooklyn, as we did here. Yeah. So so you started out with, did you start out with the first series that you had? Or did, you know, did you do a lot of experimenting before you came to doing the series, which was smile for the camera? Yeah, yeah, I had made two short films that that took a long time. I mean, film, it takes a long time, but it took a long time to save up the money for each one. And, and yeah, so I had made two short films. And then I became a mother and I took time off. So there was a pause for about like eight years, I think before I really got back to filmmaking. And that came back through through comedy. And it was a time in my life where I needed comedy. And I just started writing and I put the my boys to bed and I would sit up late in the night and giggle and write and I wrote, I think like 18 scripts, it was like this fury of creativity. And I cast our cast and in a way we went, we got started and it was a lot of fun. So yeah, so what gave you the idea for this film? I guess, you know, just like I said, I needed comedy in my life when I wrote smile for the camera. And at the point of walk with me, I really just wanted a love story. I wanted I'm a big believer in the power of love and in all kinds of love and all the forms of love. And but I also do believe in the power of romantic love. And, you know, and, and I wanted to tell a story that spoke to that really. And it resonated to me and I fell in love with the characters as I was writing. It was the first time in my writing experience where I've cried at my computer writing scenes. I mean, I was so moved and I was so in, in each character is how I write. I kind of kind of a method writer, I guess, in a way. I really go into how they're feeling. And so it was a really emotional experience writing the film and elating because it's there's so many, there's so much payoff in this film also. So it's so much to juggle like director, you know, writer, I mean, all of that is really hard. I, I wrote a play once it was in, it was a 15 minute play. It was so stressful. I mean, you know, does somebody interpret? How do they interpret your play? And do you like the way they interpret at least when you're, you're doing it yourself, you have like this basic idea of what you want and how you want it to be projected. Yeah. To the audience. And, and so that gives a little more control, I would think, which would be really nice to sort of, you know, in charge of this whole project. And, you know, you do your own editing too, right? So I mean, that's amazing. Yeah, I mean, I really, I loved editing. I'm so particular about the performances, like it's on set. I love working with actors. I, it's, it's my favorite thing about filmmaking is, is working with actors and getting the performances just right. And so in post, that's, that's such a strong focus for me. And because I'm already an editor, and we didn't really have a budget to pay anybody, I jumped in as editor. And, and I loved the process because I also felt like I would have been over my editor's shoulder, like, not that performance this. And, and, and I don't like to work like that. I'm a very collaborative worker. And even, even though I edited it, I mean, there were so many eyes on the project. And when people said cut this, you know, you can't, we got to remove this or, you know, I'm really, I listen a lot. So it's not so much about control. It's, it's, I'm an editor. You know, it's your vision. Yeah. And that's really amazing. And so the music was beautiful in this film. Do you want to tell us about the person, Amanda Walther, who did the music in your film? Yeah, Amanda's just this incredible talented artist. And she, I listened, I discovered her band, Gala. It's her band is Sheila Carabine and Amanda Walther and their folk duo in Toronto. And I discovered the music right when I was sitting down to write the first draft of this screenplay of Walk With Me. And it resonated emotionally, like there are so many songs, there's a lot of fun songs too, and more upbeat songs. But I kind of played on repeat all the tracks that, that I needed emotionally while I was writing. And, and the music helped me emotionally get to the places I needed to get as I was writing the script. And when I finished, I was so, I was so connected to their music. By the end of the screenplay that I reached out to Amanda, and I sent to the script, and, and asked if she'd be interested in writing the music. And, and, and she connected as a bisexual woman, queer woman, really connected to the story and, and fell in love with it. And it was a resounding yes. And that was back in like 2014. There's no money for the, it was like, maybe someday, question mark film. But she was really the first person that, that was brought on to the project. And her and Devin who played Amber. But Amanda, it was really a different experience for her. Because first of all, she'd never written music for film. I mean, she's touring professional musician. But it's different, it's a different world, you know, and then also she needed to write music from the perspective of another human being from Logan. So because there's four songs in the film that are written by Logan performed by Logan from the, you know, the creative birthing place of this fictitious character. So, so Amanda and I spent a lot of time talking about Logan and her backstory, just as much time as I spent with Bridget Barken, who plays Logan, talking about her childhood, her history, all the pains and the aches and the, and the growth and the strength and, you know, all the experiences. And, and so yeah, so she really found a voice and Bridget will talk about how that was her way into the character of Logan through the music that Amanda had written. And it was like a beautiful segue for her to just like find Logan because Bridget herself is also a singer-songwriter. So music is a part of who she is. And so it just spoke the right language and boom, and Logan was born. Yeah. And what's that? Sorry. I was just going to say that all 16 songs in the film are written by Amanda. And then four of them are performed by Bridget. But the soundtrack itself is Amanda's voice. And, and her brother Adrian Walther produced all the music and they sat in the studio and, and fine-tuned all the music to the film. So there'll be points where they'll be instrumental and you'll hear that the vocals will stop and dialogue comes in and then the vocals come right back in. So it's, it's curated for the film and it's, it's so beautiful and so strong. And there's a lot of women in here, right? A lot of women worked on this project with you. Yeah. Amanda. And that must have been very enjoyable on me to have all these, these women in these, you know, working roles. Yeah. I mean, it's unusual in film to have a predominantly female crew. So, so that was a whole different dynamic. And a lot of people were commenting on, on the energy on set. And, you know, it's having women on set, but also people that are natural leaders that work really well with people where there was a synergy and a respect and professionalism. There wasn't control and disregard. And, you know, it was really just a wonderful crew of people. And we did have a few men on set, our camera, our director of photography and sound were men and they were lovely. And everybody just fit. It's a beautiful team. So if people want to see this film, how would they find you? Well, we are currently in distribution with gravitas ventures. And so we right now are on iTunes and Amazon and voodoo and YouTube and all the streaming platforms where you can rent films or purchase films. And you could just go to walkwithmemovie.com and all the links for all of the platforms are listed there. Okay, well, we'll make sure we put that online so that on the show so that people can see and go and see what's on the show so that people can see and go to the show because it's really fabulous. And all of you people out there need to go and see this movie. Thank you. So what is your next project? Do you have one that you're thinking about now? Yeah, I started conceptualizing the next script while we were shooting Walk With Me. And then I wrote it during quarantine. Now I'm just looking for financing, but it's called Scene and it's a supernatural drama. It's about a mother and her two children and kind of exploring the tether between life and the afterlife. It's a subject that I've always been really deeply curious for lack of a better word about. And I've been kind of just exploring that for, I don't know, the past 30 years of my life. So I finally arrived at a place where I have the skill set to make a feature film and I can combine the two things. So yes, yeah. You started the writing and yeah, the script is finished. I'm just looking for financing. I'm hoping I have a few leads, but I'm hoping if we land financing to be filming next fall, September of 2023, that's the goal. So yeah. Well, you must be finding a little more access now that you've done and you've gotten so many accolades for this film. I'm sure people should be knocking your door down to get you to do this. So I'm sure you'll get a lot. It'll be fabulous. So is there anything else you'd like to tell the audience before we... Well, I guess if you follow us on our social media, you can see we've been scheduling screenings at Art House and indie film theaters. And so we list all that information, all the current information. If you want to see the film in person, often if they're in the New York City, vicinity in New Jersey, Long Island and somehow like in a driving distance myself and my actors, the lead actors, Bridget and Devin might be able to come out and do in person Q&As. Otherwise, we've been doing virtual Q&As with audiences and stuff like that. But it's been really lovely to be able to share the film where people can gather and watch it. And it's been a super love. The whole film has been an incredible experience. So very proud of the entire team and just very proud of the life it's taken on on its own now. It's very exciting. And people talk about, I mean, I've never experienced it myself, but you know, a lot of people when they talk about the end of a play or film that it's like breaking up a family when it's over because everybody's been so close for so long. And that may be a little bit of a difficult or different experience to sort of have this family for so long. And then everybody kind of goes their own way again. Yeah, it's definitely a love affair. It's a summer love affair. But I have to say that there are really beautiful friendships that have been formed that are lifelong. So the project ended, but the connections remain. And I would love to work with my entire cast over and over, but casting is very specific. But I love to work with my crew also and, you know, just wonderful people. So it's great to like people and love people and love what you do and bring those two things together. It's a really special experience. It really is. And not that many people get to experience that in that way. So you're very blessed. Is there anything you'd like to tell our audience before we leave? We'll have your where they can get your movie and watch it. And is there any last word you'd like to say to us? I mean, I just a note that the soundtrack has been released. So once you see the film, if you love the music, you can just look up, walk with me on all the places where music is available or Amanda Walther and you can find it. But also just, you know, I think it's like the messaging at the end of the film. I guess it's just really like an encouragement and just the idea that know that you're loved and that you can find your place. I guess that's that's what I'd like to leave everybody with. Thank you so much. And I do encourage everybody to get to see this movie. And thank you for coming on all things LGBTQ. And we'll talk to you soon. Thank you. Thank you so much for doing this. Monkey pox or what we will be referring to during this interview M pox has all of a sudden taken up a lot of room within the men who have sex with men conversation and community. And all things LGBTQ reached out to the health and wellness program of the Pride Center of Vermont saying, let's talk about this. Let's talk about what M pox truly is. And men who have sex with men. Why should you be paying attention? And how can you respond to this? So joining me today from the health and wellness program is Richard from the Pride Center of Vermont and welcome Richard. Hello, hello. How are you doing today? I'm doing good. And you look like you're doing good. Really good. It's nice outside. It's not too sweltering. I have AC right here in the library. So you've created the environment. So let's start a little bit with how you came to be at the Pride Center and working within the health and wellness program. So hi, hello, everyone. My name is Richard Elliott. I am one of the health and wellness coordinators for the Pride Center of Vermont. I've been working at Pride Center for the past two years now. But I've been a Vermont citizen for the past year in August. I was working down in Jersey of COVID happened, uplifted my job. But luckily I had connections up here, such as the lovely Taylor Small, who is working with us. Yes. So one of my first connections up here was Taylor Small, and they knew of the work that was doing down in Jersey. I was still doing public health. I was still doing education around HIV, STD, sexual health, all that lovely stuff. And she was like, you need a job. Let me just grab you and bring you up here. So that's how it came up to be in Vermont. And thank you for coming to Vermont. And Taylor has always been one of all things favorite interviewees. So let's start by talking about Monkeypox and what we're calling Mpox. And as you had shared during a conversation yesterday with Dr. Leahy of UVM, using Mpox versus other language helps remove some of the stigmatization that could be associated with it. So let's start with what is Mpox? So Mpox, previously known as Monkeypox and what is being known in the clinical and medical field as of right now under the acronym HMPXV. It's a virus that is akin to say smallpox and or measles. It's a human variant that was found in monkeys in Northern and West Africa. Monkeypox has been prevalent in Africa, but it's only recently that it has gotten out into the European and North and Southern American countries. So we only decided to take an interest in this when it had more of a global impact, regardless of what people may have been seeing about the potential for spread based upon all of the usual systemic issues. Okay. So I'm hearing a lot about Mpox. How would I know if I've been infected with Mpox? What would I have for symptoms? So what we usually will tell people to do is like, check your body on a regular basis. If you've been to a location where there's a high risk population or there is a high prevalence of cases such as currently the top five places in America in the Northern United States that are affected by monkeypox would be Georgia, Florida, New York State. What's the other three? Maryland and California and Maryland. For many of those places, if you feel like you've been exposed, check yourself on a regular basis. It's going to mimic what it can possibly look like. So it would, let me actually bring up a, let me bring up the example. So this is an example of what monkeypox would look like. You can also see that it comes on many different skin colors and we're going to be seeing many different gender identities as well. It can look like welts, bruises, marks, rashes, open lesions, open sores, but most primarily it's going to look like polyps that are going to develop on the top of your skin that's going to be filled with a pussy fluid. And we are recommending that people don't try to pop those if they do see them on their body because that can also help spread the infection. And obviously, if you're popping a, if you're popping something on your body that leads room for more of the infection to get it in spread. This also can look like, this also can be in other areas of the body, not just the mouth, hands, face, or legs. It can also be on your genitals. So for individuals who have a vagina or front hole, it can be there. And for anyone, it could be on the anus and inside the breath in as well. And it's my understanding that similar to people who may have experienced shingles, that the rash and the lesions tend to have a burning sensation and they can actually be quite painful. Right. Thank you. Thank you as that as well as some people are saying it's akin to having hemorrhoids, especially if, especially if it's going to be in the rectum or on the anus, you're going to be feeling that pain and you're feeling that burn sensation. It's going to be feeling very rough and uncomfortable. Are there symptoms that I might experience before the lesions themselves develop? Yeah. So some of the symptoms that could come up would be fever, headaches, muscle aches, back aches. Usually, if you get any type of infection or cold, you can feel your lymph nodes and various places on your body. And if those are swollen, that is another sign as well. Fatigue, exhaustion. And sometimes people will have haemorrhoids and oblisters in their mouth as well. So how long after I might have been exposed and infected are those symptoms likely to appear? So just to give a little bit of context, prior to the incubation period for myocupoxy is going to be one to two weeks. So that would be the time period that you should be getting symptoms, endoscopy symptoms. Some people may be asymptomatic, which means they are not showing any symptoms whatsoever. But if you are showing symptoms, if you are having the rashes, pimple blisters, the headache, fever, fatigue and all that, you will usually have a sick time between two to four weeks. And if there's anything that's lasting longer than that, we recommend that you go to the emergency room and once again, see your medical provider to see what else is going to you. You're finding that if you are an individual who is immunocompromised and or if you have some kind of skin ailments such as eczema, you are a lot more susceptible to getting the mucubox virus. So we obviously will tell people who are under those categories to be a little bit more cautious as well. So how might I be put at risk for or how might I become infected with Mpox? So with infection, the highest rate that people are being infected by Mucubox is through skin on skin contact and intimate contact. We were saying as of today actually before this interview, we were saying sex was the quickest way for individuals to be getting mucubox, which is why gay men are being toted as ground zero because there was a lot of sexual contact during the breakout in one of the European prides. So skin and skin contact prolonged contact with somebody who is positive for Mucubox is the way that people are most likely going to get it. So for example, if you are, say, if you're in a club, if you're in a club dancing, if you're in a club and you're dancing and he's getting hot, people are taking off their people are taking off their shirts. Somebody may be in that somebody in that room may have Mucubox, maybe it's asthmatic and or may not notice any of the symptoms on their body. They could be in that small knit closed closed air club and be dancing up next to people for hours on end. And with that being that it's mainly skin skin skin contact, they would be passing along the virus while even knowing it. It can be found. We're seeing that it can be found in some bodily fluids, but not all. So things such as sweat and respiratory fluids. So anytime you like call for sneeze, any fluid that are coming out of your respiratory system, so like your lungs, that can be a that can be another way that can be transferred. That's most likely if you're breathing in the air as something you call a thing. It is not like COVID where it can be airborne, it would have to it's going to either die on contact with a surface after I believe 24 hours or it will also become inside somebody's body and that could be another way that it will be transferred. So how it's sounding is though I if I am somebody who is infected with Mpox that I am able to transmit the virus to someone else before the lesions appear or what is the the window of time between being infected and being considered infectious. So as you will usually say about 14 days you should know that is that that is that an incubation period. So that incubation period would be when the virus is most prevalent in your body. Your antibodies will be built up and in your body that can be transferred over to somebody else. So we're going to be recommending to individuals to uh once again quarantine self quarantine self isolate and give themselves within certain circles in order to not spread the virus for that period of time. And once you've once you feel like you're out of that um that incubation period that window period we do recommend you going going to see your healthcare provider so they can provide you with a Mpox test to see the one to see if you were actually exposed to it. If you came up positive and possibly had a symptomatic if you were asymptomatic and if your body is going to be immune from further Mpox further Mpox exposure. Okay I I'm going to move on to seeing my my provider in treatment in just a second but some of the early information that was being put out within the public media was about concern for people sharing bedding and or towels now. Is that because of virus shedding that I may have come in contact in that manner? Okay it can live on surfaces so it could be clothes, it could be papers, it could be pens, it could be heart services, soft services, it could really live on anything so something that we're asked people to do is regularly clean just like with COVID regularly clean your services regularly just in fact things because you never know if you went out and you could have you could have crossed by somebody who may have had you may have Muccipox and it could get on your clothing. We are also recommending that um any exposure that you're going to be having with individuals keep it to a minimum um no no no sharing shirts, no sharing food, no sharing drinks, the typical things we're going to tell you to do while you're ill. So if if I'm one of those people men who have sex with men in the era of HIV and AIDS started adopting a non-penetrative sexual activity for some of my sexual repertoire and sort of holding cuddling, snuggling during the night M-pox is a situation where that recommendation actually is going to put me at greater risk for transmission of the M-pox virus. So that's going to be because of prolonged and long get-it-contact. Say if you are in a bed with somebody cuddling and all that you're also going to be sleeping in the same bed with them. If you may be sleeping with them you may be sleeping with them for a long period of time. Say if we get our usual eight hours of sleep with somebody that's going to be prolonged skin-to-skin contact and or skin-to-infected surface contact. So that would be a that's going to be more of a prominent way for you to get the back to get the virus through like a very intimate very prolonged personal contact with people. Thank you because I you know some of the public media focuses so much on sexual transmission and people might have a narrow vision of what that does or does not mean. So looking at treatment modalities if well first is if I'm going to be going to you know I'm spending the week in San Francisco because I'm going to Pride events. Is there a vaccine that I could get in advance that might help either prevent or decrease the risk of my becoming infected with M-pox? So yes there is there is a vaccine currently I can't pronounce it J-Y-N-N-E-O-S is a vaccine that's to be giving out for individuals who are seeking to be to be to be prevented to get prevented to get preventive work with M-pox oh got that. That pro that prophylactic treatment stuff Yeah yeah so this is actually a variant of the smallpox vaccine because the smallpox and monkey parks are in the same family. This vaccine is readily available in states that are having a high prevalence of cases. So once again, New York, California, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Chewbacca and Montreal are also on board with giving out vaccines to the public, but currently in Vermont, there are no public vaccines available. Previously, about 30 minutes ago, I was on a meeting with Vermont Department of Health as well as other community health organizations that we were discussing what the rollout of vaccines is going to look like here in Vermont and when that's going to be implemented. So we're looking at a one-and-a-half month possible rollout for the vaccinations here in Vermont. Currently, we only have 86 doses with 136 more being ordered as of Monday, as of Monday, August 1st. And these initial doses are going to be, part of them are going to be for health care workers, health care practitioners, clinicians, those within the fields who are having constant contact with individuals who may be at risk of getting a monkey box. They're going to be receiving these vaccines first, then we're going to be looking at who's going to be, who in the community is going to be more exposed. So those individuals who are in an urban metropolitan high impact area, such as say like Burlington, Montpelier and say, for example, where else would be good, St. Orleans. I was going to say Rutland. Rutland, Rutland. So we're going to be looking at areas like that first, and we understand that it may look a little iffy to be focusing on the higher population areas first rather than looking at all of Vermont. But we're trying to target where we feel like the virus is going to pop up more. But that kind of leads the conversation to when will the rural areas of Vermont get the vaccination? We're going to be, we're still passionate that we're still talking about that. But if we find that there are areas where there are more immunocompromised people, individuals who are immunocompromised under the age of eight and or once again, those with skin ailments, such as eczema, if we find there is a prevalence in certain pockets, certain populations within Vermont, we're going to be trying to get the vaccine out to those healthcare facilities in rural areas as well. Okay, I've got to say that when you were just disclosing the number of doses Vermont is going to receive, that seems incredibly low to me based upon the higher prevalence of men who have sex with population per capita here. And it also precipitated the, okay, if I am preparing to go spend a vacation in what is known to be a high virus concentrated area for Mpox, does that, does that put me higher on the list to being eligible for getting a vaccine? Yes, so what we're also saying is that those individuals who are traveling to these places where there are higher cases, you would be higher up on a list of receiving vaccination. Okay. But that's what you have to discuss with your healthcare provider and or the conversation will happen with the doctor at infectious disease or at an ER. So you had referenced that the vaccine is similar to that that is given for smallpox, but I'm taking that I'm making the presumption that the vaccine that I had for smallpox in my youth is not something that's going to protect me for becoming infected with Mpox. It's similar in a way, it would be able to treat, treat any symptoms that may come from an Mpox virus, but it's mainly going to be used for mainly going to be used for a monkey box. So those who were vaccinated for smallpox in their youth and or in their adulthood, they still would need to receive this new vaccine. So if I've done my weeks vacation and Mpox was not something that I thought I was going to be exposed to and I come back to Vermont and two weeks later, I start getting the flu-like symptoms and it's like that looks like a pustule. Is there treatment that can be provided for me at that point in time? Yes. So what's being done is called PEP++ pre-exposure, pre-exposure, post-exposure prophylaxis for Mpox. It is going to be for individuals who were in a high impact area and are finding out weight that they have been exposed to monkey pox. So if they are out of that four to 14-day window, this will be the time where they would receive this vaccination. Okay. And to be able to access all of that, I would go through my primary health provider who would then be in contact with our Department of Health about making treatment available. Right. So you mentioned that you were on a call today with the Department of Health. Is this something to which they are being attentive? So the reason in four of the meetings today is because they have recognized that some of the information that they're putting out, it is generalized, it is encompassing of all of our mentors, but they are looking to see how we can do better, do more for the community, expand information, education, and knowledge to the community. They do regularly update their website within like weeks time. I think the last updated bit was July 20th, and that was letting us know about the shift in terminology and change, shift in terminology to de-symmetize black and brown individuals when it comes to monkey pox. So they're staying up to date with all the information they're putting out there, but they still want to know what they can do more, which this meeting was for. And we're going to be meeting regularly, I want to say, possibly every month, just to ensure that the communities, health organizations are doing what they're able to do, and that we are holding the Department of Health responsible for and accountable for the information they're putting out. Okay, that sounds like a reasonable and responsible response on the behalf of our Department of Health. So if I'm hearing you correctly, I would be able to go on to the Vermont GOV Department of Health website and get updates on mpox. Will the Pride Center also be having either links or updates on your Facebook and website? Right. I love data. I do. I've taken a lead on putting all the information out there on behalf of Pride Center and to an extent, on behalf of the LGBTQ plus community. So I've been regularly putting out information around symptoms, prevention, intervention, where you can get vaccinated, how to stay safe, what to do if symptoms come up, all the information that's been put out there. And as of today, I was working on some infographics that are going to be put out on Monday just detailing all the things that we were talking about today and all the things you can find on the line, such as where to go, what to do, who, what, when, where, why, and how. So I'm regularly putting together information and getting it out to the community and honestly checking medical resources, clinical resources, and making sure our data is up date as well. Well, will the site also include the areas that are experiencing high prevalence of virus so that, you know, as I'm sitting back and looking at, you know, I'm doing a two week vacation, I'm looking at, you know, either spending it in Montreal or in Halifax. This is, this is a piece of information that can easily be folded into making that final decision of where to go. Yes, so so information is going to be changing on a daily basis on a regular basis. So I do advise to always look at the Department of Health website as well as CDC's website and state maps because we are seeing that we're seeing on a regular basis that the stats are getting updated. For instance, there are only three states right now, wherein there are no reported monkeypox viruses, so us in Vermont, Wyoming, and Montana are the last three. The last time I checked it, there was, Utah was on that as well, but as of today, they are not. So we're still looking at other places and the places that we feel like people would be going to like for vacation for work and such and watching those numbers as well. And we're going to be updating it to information as we see fit. I remember back when we were initially doing outreach and the end research was being done on HIV and AIDS and looking at a cohort occurrence or cohort factor. If I'm becoming, if I am at risk for and I've been exposed to Mpox, are they seeing any other STIs or conditions that seem to be accompanying that? So that's actually a funny question because I asked that yesterday and the response I was expecting is that there are other ST, STDs and STIs that are coming along with monkey, with Mpox infections. And that's really because individuals who are having sex, they have not known they have monkeypox. They are individuals who do not prefer not to use condoms so gonorrhea syphilis and chlamydia are coming in along with Mpox data. So that's what we're seeing, but usually there wouldn't be like any, usually there wouldn't really be any correlation between the two. And the only reason that there is is because we are, some people are toning monkey Mpox as a STI. I'm still trading my mind to do Mpox instead of monkeypox. I was going to say that this is a learning experience with all of us the same as post and pre prophylactic treatments. Okay, so it sounds as though the conversation that I should be having with my healthcare provider if I start developing symptoms should include the, and this is how I may have become exposed or infected. And then looking at logically where those questions would take me so that if it's something that happened during a sexual encounter, okay, what else might have been exposed to at the same time versus, oh, if you have Mpox, then you should automatically check for. So we're going to tell people, we're going to tell people if you're at it, if you ask your healthcare provider, why not get checked for everything under the sun? If you're going in for Mpox, if you're going in for Mpox and you feel like you've contracted Mpox through a sexual encounter or like a very intimate encounter, we're going to ask that you get tested for STIs as well. I think most likely it may show up with, it may show up with that infection of Mpox. So we're going, once again, we're going to, we're going to ask individuals to go into the doctor's office say, hey, I've been exposed to, I've been exposed to Mpox, is there a possibility or can you test me for all these other STIs? So while I'm there, I might as well get the full wealth of your services. So is there anything about Mpox and response and what the men who have sex with men's community or looking at practice versus person for the transmission, is there any aspect of this that, for which people should be aware that we haven't talked about? So what is not being put out there that other people, that the community is putting out there is the real of it, the real of having the virus, the real of having the symptoms and being sick and going through it. There are individuals, there are individuals who are gay men, queer men that are putting out there on social media and to like news platforms of their experiences. So they're being very vulnerable and showing off their body, showing where the lesions, where the bumps are, telling canon stories of what's like to go about today, having, having, going about today, having this affliction, having this virus and it's, it's been a real, it's, it's been nice to see these individuals being martyred, being a pillar in the community and getting their voices heard because that's the real, that's the real way that our, the health department and the CDC and that other health outlets will pretty much listen by these people having their voices out, people being heard and people being loud and aggressive with the information they're putting out. There is an individual out in, in his name is Dr. Carlton out in San Francisco. He's a, the queer male GI gastroenterologist doctor who has been collecting stories from individuals and putting them out on his social media and like being able to watch people's stories and hear what they're going through is very, very disheartening and upsetting, but it's also a much needed thing to do. Because what I'm, what I'm noticing from like the health department and from national health outlets is it's, it's obviously going to be very clinical. It's going to be obviously very medical and some of the, some of the terminology, some of the language, some of the ways that describe, ways that they're describing it is not at a community level. It's not where it's not at a level where individuals can easily understand and imagine what going through this is like. So having these community members that are putting themselves out there being vulnerable has been a huge hit and the reason why organizations are taking steps to bettering the information they put out there. The more vocal we are, the better advocates we are both for ourselves and for the rest of our communities. And with that, thank you for spending this time with us. Thank you for the role you were playing in advocating on behalf of our community. And I'm going to bring you back to talk about risk reduction in a broader context. Thank you for joining us. And until next time, remember, resist.