Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the IN MX?  IN MX stands for the Inland Northwest Men's Experience.  IN MX is a funded program that uses the MPowerment Project model to build the gay and bi men's community through sponsored social events and activities.  Spokane's MPowerment Project has been named the Inland Northwest Men's Experience and has been adapted to include the entire GLBTQ community for the large social events, and for men 18 to 29 for the smaller events and wellness groups.
• What is the MPowerment Project?  The MPowerment Project is a CDC-recommended Diffusion of Effective Behavioral Intervention (DEBI) for reducing the rates of unprotected anal sex in young gay men.  The model uses formal and informal outreach to "diffuse" a safer sex message throughout the gay and bi men's community. 
• Who funds the IN MX?  The Project is funded from a variety of sources, from public and private grants.  The main source of funding comes from the Federal AIDS Omnibus Act, which is distributed to states who then distribute it to aids service organizations like Spokane AIDS Network, or the Spokane Regional Health District.  IN MX is also funded by the Pride Foundation, the Gill Foundation, the Until There's A Cure Foundation, and individual donations. 
• Why is the Spokane AIDS Network putting on this program?  SAN has a long history of prevention programs, and this is one of them.  After Friend to Friend was discontinued, SAN pursued funding for the MPowerment Project because it was a demonstrated effective prevention intervention and was a good fit for the community.
• Is this for HIV+ or HIV- men?  Both.  Most wellness and healthy living workshops will be geared to any gay or bisexual man, although some may specifically be for HIV+ or HIV- men. 
• Why the age group 18+?  Typically, the MPowerment Project is geared toward young gay and bi men 18-29, but since our population is pretty small, we expanded the age group to include 30 and up.  Of course, anyone over 18 is invited to participate in the larger events, but there will be specific functions and activities for young men and specific functions and activities for the 30 and up crowd.  Some will be mixed and some will be for the entire GLBTQ community.
• Why are "all welcome" at the planning meetings?  Isn't this just for men?  Yes and no.  The IN MX's HIV prevention message IS geared toward gay and bisexual men, but the IN MX is also about building community.  That means the GLBTQ community at large as well as the gay/bi men's community.  When we put on large events, we want to collaborate with other GLBTQ organizations, invite people who may not already be identifying with those organizations, and include interested GLBTQ people in general who want to check out what we're about.  That's why we say ALL ARE WELCOME AT THE PLANNING MEETINGS.

If you have any other questions, please e-mail us.