 |
||||||
 |
||||||
| Young Women United's Quarterly e-News July 2009 | ||||||
 |
||||||
 |
 |
|
|
|||
In This Issue:Main Articles
In the Side Bar
Young Women United is Hiring!!We have two part-time positions available:
To see a copy of the job announcement and application procedures click the link below Coming Soon. The New YWU Website! |
||||||
Young Women United has been super busy since the beginning of 2009. We have continued work on our Sexuality Education Campaign, by launching the Sex Ed Report Card as well as creating dialogue with local high school health teachers. YWU is continuing to put pressure on the APS school board to insure that all high school students are being taught sex ed that complies with the state's standards and benchmarks. We have also expanded our monthly prayer vigils to include the women found on the west mesa, and increased focus on issues such as sexual and physical abuse that drive women of color to drug addiction. And this is only the beginning of all that YWU has been up to in 2009.
Thursday May 21, 2009
Young Women United member Kirbie Platero received the Marie C. Wilson Young Woman's Leadership Award, at the Ms. Foundation's 21st Annual Gloria Awards. Kirbie received the award for her leadership in the Sexuality Education campaign in which she and her peers have successfully impacted local and state policy changes. Kirbie, Avicra Luckey (her best friend and fellow leader in the Sex Ed Campaign), and YWU Director, Adriann Barboa all attended the Gloria Awards in New York City.
The Ms. Foundation treated us with great care and really centered the light on Kirbie to honor her for all the work she has done toward achieving sexuality education for her peers in New Mexico. The Gloria Awards was a beautiful and inspiring Gala full of amazing women and leaders from the Women's health and justice movement. We attended a pre-event dinner on the evening of the 20th, in which we were able to spend time with Gloria Steinem herself! She is absolutely brilliant, beautiful and bold, but she was only one of many women in the room that have and continue to shape the face of women's rights in the past and the present. The more intimate atmosphere gave room to hear stories from these fabulous leaders that talked about humble beginnings, risky ideas and courageous acts of love and sisterhood. Ms. Wilson, founding mother and President Emerita of the Ms Foundation presented Kirbie with the Marie C. Wilson Young Woman's Leadership Award. Thank you so much Ms. Foundation for honoring the work and life of our very deserving Kirbie Platero!
Some of the workshops COS has engaged in Since March 2009 have been: resume building, Capoeira, planting / gardening and all natural crema (body and hair cream) making among others. For the rest of the year we plan to host workshops on: Building /maintaining credit, healthy cooking workshops, kickboxing, karate, yoga.
COS has been very busy with the above mentioned workshops as well as participating in all YWU programs such as; monthly "Join da Revolution" Popular Education workshops, monthly Prayer Vigils, and most recently Albuquerque Gay Pride. Continue on to read about additional COS activities...
2009 New Mexico Gear Up Conference
COS members Kirbie Platero and Avicra Luckey provided the only youth led workshop at the Gear up Conference titled, "What's going down in our schools?" This workshop was geared toward working class, students of color currently enrolled in junior high or high school. During the workshop participates were invited to draw on their experiences in school to understand the way the school system is set up, who benefits from the system and who suffers because of it.
Advocates for Equity
YWU has been in support of Advocates for equity's recent efforts to create anti-racism awareness and truancy prevention in APS's Highland High School and Albuquerque High. YWU endorsed and attended Advocates for Equity Anti-Racism in education candidates' forum. All 11 Albuquerque public schools board candidates attended, as well as 125 citizens. At the end of the evening 10 of the 11 candidates committed to attending anti-racism training if elected. The board members who have since been elected and have publicly committed to this training are David Peercy, David Robbins, Paula Maes, and Lorenzo Garcia.
OYE Youth Conference
On June 4 through June 7, three of COS's members attended the OYE Conference. The OYE (Organizing Youth Engagement For Change) conference is an Annual Summer Gathering of Youth Organizations. The conference gave the COS members and other New Mexican youth the opportunity to participate in fun group activities and evening entertainment, as well as the chance to participate in a legislative roundtable with elected officials to discuss important issues in our communities. The conference also provided an opportunity for statewide youth networking and skill building which include workshops on digital storytelling creation, team dynamics, issue organizing and more!!
Thank you Denicia for being an adult sponsor! The young women had a blast, met a lot of young people from across the state and learned a lot at all of the cool workshops they attended.
OmniRoots Presents "Melanin"
In May COS helped host the box office and sell refreshments and other items for "Melanin", a play written by Terry Gomez and performed by OmniRoots. The play is a comedic yet serious story of a Comanche family, an Indian health clinic, a Black head nurse, and a water fountain. This play offered us a slice of life during the turbulent sixties. We had fun, enjoyed the play and raised close to $100!
Since the launch of the Sexuality Education Report Card in February, Circle of Strength is still making strides on the Sex Ed Campaign. In late March Andrea (Circle of Strength's Community Organizer) completed the Sex Ed Survey report which includes detailed information on each school, as well as a herstory on the survey (written by COS members) and suggestions on how to improve sex Ed in Albuquerque High schools. COS has delivered the report to every APS high school principal and health educator. Andrea and COS members have also met with many high school principals and health teachers to talk about the results, give recommendations and to discuss any possible future collaboration. Teachers from West Mesa and Sandia had voiced concern about the result of the survey. Through discussion they have told YWU that they do teach comprehensive sexuality education to the standards, in contrary to the survey results. Click here --> Sex Ed Survey Report to view the Report.
On April 23, 2009, Andrea Garza met with the New Mexico Pubic Education Department (NM PED). The topics discussed during the meeting were YWU's Sex Ed Report Card, the recent Health Education graduation requirement bill, and the State's Sex Ed Mandate. During the meeting Kris Meureur the Director of School and Family Support Bureau of the NM PED said, "The NM Health Education Content standards with benchmarks and performance standards are mandated by NM PED. Abstinence education is required K-12, and comprehensive sexuality education is required 7-12." During this meeting PED officials also made a commitment to support YWU in gaining access to the schools and health teachers.
In addition the work surrounding the Sex Ed Report and working with NMPED, Andrea has also womaned an informational booth at Van Buren Middle School's Community day and Tome Elementary Health fair. Andrea and Circle of Strength also continue to make sure the youth voice is heard at School Health Advisory Councils, APS School Board, and NMRSE (New Mexicans for Responsible Sex Education) Meetings.
On July 6, COS members presented New Mexico's Health Standards and Benchmarks, which include requirements on teaching Sex Ed grades K-12, to the APS School Board members. Go to the link below to watch the news coverage about the APS meeting.
Students Call for Better Sex Ed
Don't miss out! The Join da Revolution workshop series will continue till February 2010. Future topics will include Media Justice, Reproductive Justice, Transgender / Queer issues, YWU orientation workshop, Community Organizing, Ageism / Adultism, and youth rights! For more information or to receive a calendar of workshops please contact us at amayahuel@hotmail.com.
On December 4th YWU lost our sister Amber Archibeque. Amber was released from Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in downtown Albuquerque in the middle of the night, alone, with no transportation. She past away from an overdose less than four hours after her release. We began hosting monthly vigils in honor of Amber and all those suffering from addiction in an effort to bring attention to issues of addiction and the criminalization of addicts. This tragedy provoked us to look at the root causes of problems like addiction. We discovered that sexual abuse and other forms of violence are common experiences shared by many addicts. Soon after our first vigil, the bodies of 11 women were discovered on the West Mesa. Many of us were upset with the way these women were portrayed in the media. They were labeled as drug addicts and prostitutes. The way these women were being talked about was very hurtful to their families and friends and other community members. We decided to use our monthly vigils to honor them as mothers, daughters, sisters and friends. We come together every month, as a community to honor the lives of the "West Mesa Women" as well as the lives of all women lost to violence and addiction.
In addition to holding monthly vigils, we have also begun advocating for changes at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC). Thanks to the collective efforts of many organizations and community members, a work group was established specifically to address changes in the MDC drop-off policies. To learn more about the proposed changes click the "MDC report" link below.
MDC Report on Inmate Drop-off Policies
We also conducted a book drive and collected over 150 books to donate to MDC for the incarcerated women. We felt it was important that they have access to meaningful literature that will be helpful and inspiring to them during tough times. Our next step will be to prepare the books to be delivered to MDC. Our plan is to include a supportive message inside each book along with a list of local community resources. Thank you to everyone who donated books!
YWU would like to thank the groups involved in these efforts such as Kalpulli Izkalli, Peanut Butter & Jelly, Drug Policy Alliance, Southwest Women's Law Center, New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence, along with the families of the "West Mesa Women" and many other concerned individuals.
Through the Promotora Tradicionales Apprenticeship program, we continue to work at understanding traditional medicine and other natural methods of healing one's self. With the coming of spring and the Mexica New Year, we began our year with an orientation in March.
In April our women attended a 2 day Reiki workshop presented by Promotora Paula Terrero. Several of the apprentices have continued practicing Reiki on a regular basis. During the months of May and June we have had several hands-on, knowledge sharing workshops, including assisting in the re-building of Kalpulli Izkalli's Temazkal. The Promotoras spent 3 days, working with clay to repair and rebuild the structure.
In the upcoming months we will continue to learn about energy and meditation, limpias, herbs and medicine, and massage. In November we will once again dedicate time to engage in Promotoras del Parto Natural (Promoters of Natural Birth) doula training. We have several women who have begun assisting women throughout pregnancy and childbirth, and hope to continue to build this collective of women of color Promotoras Del Parto Natural.
The Promotora program would like to recognize and thank all who contributed food, prayers, childcare, and all of the resources needed for our women to fully participate in this program.
If you would like more information about our Promotoras Tradicionales Apprenticeship Program or the Promotoras Del Parto Natural Program please contact Andrea Garza at amayahuel@hotmail.com.
Over the past two years, YWU staff and members have been part of a national conversation around Revolutionary Mothering. Some of you may have seen the first edition of our Revolutionary Mothering Zine, which was created with the stories of YWU mujeres and other fabulous mamas of color from around the country. As we continue to learn from each other and talk about what revolutionary mothering means in our lives and communities, we felt it was time to create a platform of issues that connects the work we are doing.
This May, we began sending out a survey to hear from Mamas of Color; this survey is a place for Mamas of Color to share experiences, feelings, ideas, and knowledge as a parent in the US. In gathering this information, we hope to identify issues affecting our lives, find common experiences and collectively organize as Mamas of Color.
If you're a mama of color please take a moment to fill out our survey, and then help us get it out! If you want to get involved with the Revolutionary Mothering work, email us at revolutionarymamas@gmail.com - we would love to have you!
Ahleah Marie Constance Arvizu is YWU member, Seryna Estrada's baby niece. Currently Ahleah's father, Seryna's brother, Junior has been having financial difficulties and is having a hard time affording basic baby needs. Seryna as well as her mother and sister are giving Junior as much financial and emotional support as they can but are under resourced. Because of this they are asking the community for additional support through donations of baby items.
Ahleah is in need of baby clothes, baby food, diapers, formula (Enfamil Gentlease, the purple can or any comparable generic), toys, and baby furniture (such as a crib or stroller). Ahleah is 6 months and her weight is 25 pounds. Her clothing size is 9 to 12 months, her shoe size is 5 infant and diaper size is 16 to 28lbs (although larger sizes are gladly welcome as she will grow into them later). Baby items used or new will be greatly appreciated. Please drop off baby donations at the YWU office on 120 Morningside NE and the family will pick them up from here.
Thank you for your time, thoughts and support.
In celebration of International Women's Day, YWU took part in 'Weaving Ourselves Whole- A Gathering of Women of Color' (WOW). The WOW gathering was part of a larger Women & Creativity series organized through the National Hispanic Cultural Center.The idea for WOW came from an understanding that "Women of Color have historically been marginalized and that we need to create spaces where we can have dialogue, share resources and skills, network, challenge and support one another, be creative, and celebrate" (WOW Womafesta).
YWU was part of a collective planning effort to make WOW happen. With the participation of more than twenty-five Women of Color writers, artists, healers, activists, dialogue-facilitators, performers, spiritualists, and dancers- March 7th was a day of fabulous workshops, discussions, and performances. WOW was an intergenerational event where Women of Color shared experiences and knowledge, gained new skills, and celebrated our lives!
As part of the WOW gathering, YWU organized a 'Women of Color Visual Art Exhibition'- we displayed wonderful pieces from NM Women of Color Artists.
YWU staff and members also facilitated WOW workshops: Panocha Platica, and Revolutionary Mothering!
The collective that brought you WOW is thinking about the possibilities for future Women of Color gatherings and events. If you are interested in bringing about more art/cultural spaces for Women of Color, email YWU at dompierson@gmail.com.
This year at ABQ's Gay Pride was hot, hot, hot (not just referring the temperature)! Things went smoothly for the volunteers and staff at the YWU booth. This year we had water, handmade soaps, salves, YWU t-shirts and our famous pussy pops for sale. Our pussy pops were popular this year. We sold out within two hours of the festival's opening, and long after selling out people were still coming up to our booth asking about our pussy pops. We also attracted a lot of attention to the COS's Sex Ed Survey Results Report with a sign that read, "How does your teen's high school sex ed rank? Find out here." All in all pride was fun, we got some new contacts, passed out info about YWU and met a few interesting characters due to our close proximity to the beer booth! See you next year at Pride 2010!
Adriann Barboa - Director
Andrea Garza -Community Organizer
Dominique Pierson - Communications and Office Coordinator
Micaela Cadena - YWU Board Member
Monie Trujillo - YWU Board Chair
Liz Silva - YWU Circle of Fire Membe
