Find out who’s Alie, where Calia Consent comes from and its mission.
Calia’s Vision
Calia simply wants to make the world a better and happier place by joining the offer of platonic cuddles with the practice of consent! In a society where everyone respects the consent of all and of oneself, it becomes easier to ask for and get the much needed hugs, thus making everyone happier and more peaceful. Thanks to its conferences, its foundation, and its various high-quality Cuddle Therapy services, Calia will be Quebec’s leader in Cuddle Therapy, promoting the practice of consent and platonic cuddles throughout Quebec.
Calia Cuddle Therapy’s Mission
Calia aims to provide quality cuddle therapy services to those who need platonic touch and/or to explore their own consent and others, all in a healthy, clean and safe space. Our professional cuddler is trained to support you in your personal journey towards better consent practice, the exploration of your personal boundaries and the improvement of your interpersonal relationships, while fulfilling your needs of warm and platonic touch and human connexion.
Calia Consent’s Mission
Calia Consent aims to promote the notion of consent throughout society. On the one hand, Calia aims to spread the use of the FIRES acronym, whether through workshops or conferences in schools, companies or organizations; informative cards or posters; the sale of t-shirts or its presence on social media, etc. On the other hand, Calia creates and publishes informative content to further help people navigate the different aspects of consent.
Calia’s Social Causes
In order to alleviate the effects of the economic crisis caused by the pandemic and in response to the multiple waves of denunciation of sexual assault, Calia has become a social and non-profit enterprise by offering its clients to contribute voluntarily to its two new social causes.
The first cause, Consent-Prevention, aims to promote consent by educating and making the population more aware of consent.
The second cause, Consent-Healing, aims to support victims of sexual assault as well as people who have sexually assaulted and who would like to understand, learn and improve at respecting consent.
Because even if prevention is better, one still needs to know how to heal.
“Consent-Prevention” cause
Since I firmly believe that the world would be happier if respect for consent was an integral part of our interactions, this cause aims to educate and make the population more aware of respect for consent, both that of oneself and that of others. The main tools of this cause are the dissemination of the acronym FIRES in the form of posters and cards or workshops and conferences.
Your voluntary contributions to this cause will fund the creation, printing and distribution of posters and cards as well as cover the costs of conducting workshops and conferences on consent. The targeted entities are, free of charge, any non-profit organization where there can be human interaction and, at a reduced price, any establishment where there can be human interaction or which would like to promote consent to its customers (cafes, bars, schools, etc.).
“Consent-Healing” cause
Despite all the prevention about consent, sexual assault can take place and it is then necessary to try to heal, repair and improve. After a sexual assault, there are two types of people to consider in the healing process: the person who suffered the assault and the person who committed it. I cannot offer psychological or legal advice, but I can offer attentive, empathetic, non-judgmental and confidential listening and my expertise in consent. Some people will simply need to talk, relate and experience their emotions in a non-judgmental safe space while others will want to understand what a breach of consent is and especially how to avoid it and thus improve their future relationships. The main tool of this cause is the Virtual Session which can be used as much as a safe space for confidence as a space for learning. Your voluntary contributions to this cause will allow me to offer free Virtual Sessions to people who have suffered or committed sexual assault (regardless of the gravity).
Calia’s Inclusiveness
Calia CT is meant to be a space marked by values of openness, acceptance, and inclusion. In this sense, and in order to be able to reach as many people as possible, the workshops and conferences are offered and adapted to groups of all ages, all origins, all gender expressions, all sexual identities and orientations, all spiritual beliefs, all ethical relationships in love, all places within neurodiversity, all disability situations (visible or invisible), and others.
Special needs?
Accessibility: If your group requires special adaptations, Alie will be happy to discuss them and work with you to adapt its services as best as possible. Contact Alie.
Alie, professional in Cuddle Therapy
Valérie Hébert-Gentile, that everyone calls Alie, is a professional cuddler since January 2018 and a professional in Cuddle Therapy since she founded Calia Cuddle Therapy in October 2018.
Alie’s details
Age: 39
Pronouns: She/Her
Origine: Quebec (Abitibi) and Italy
Spoken languages: Français, English, Italiano
Other passions (besides cuddling!): Plant biology, Car mechanic, Teaching, Barista, Orderly in CHSLD
Alie’s story
Alie has always liked to cuddle, but hasn’t always known how to enforce her own boundaries or even where these boundaries were. It’s thanks to her training as a professional cuddler at Cuddlist.com that Alie realizes the power of consent and the importance of respect for personal boundaries; not only in cuddles, but in all interpersonal relationships. It was then that Alie decided to create Calia, Montreal Cuddle Therapy, and to offer Cuddle therapy services in the form of One-on-one Cuddle Therapy Sessions and Cuddle Group Workshops in order to not only fill the lack of affection of the population, but also to teach and spread the magic of consent in our society. During the pandemic, Alie became an orderly in the CHSLDs and continues to work there even today, but part-time.
The sanitary measures against COVID-19
In order to remain safe in the face of COVID-19 and to protect the general population, as well as the residents and the staff of the CHSLD where Alie works as an orderly, Alie tries to comply with current health measures as best as possible.
For example:
- Alie makes sure to have had a new dose of vaccine every 5 or 6 months in order to maintain her maximum immunity.
- When space permits, Alie stays 2 meters away from people and makes sure there is good ventilation.
- When space does not allow distancing and ventilation, Alie simply wears a mask covering her nose and mouth.
- Alie will cancel the workshop or conference if she has flu or COVID-19 symptoms, has tested positive for COVID-19 or has been in close and unprotected contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.
Calia reserves the right to suspend its services at any time depending on the health situation.