<html>
<body>
<font face="Tahoma" size=2><b>From:</b> INCITE! New Orleans
[<a href="mailto:inciteneworleans@yahoo.com" eudora="autourl">
mailto:inciteneworleans@yahoo.com</a>] <br>
<b>Sent:</b> Monday, December 24, 2007 11:17 AM<br><br>
</font><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=3> <br><br>
</font><font face="Georgia" size=2>Dear New Orleans Women's Health &
Justice Initiative (WHJI) Supporters and Allies:<br><br>
As you may have heard, on Thursday, December 20th, 2007, the New Orleans
City Council unanimously voted to permit the US Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD) to demolish 4,500 low-income public housing units
and replace it with ‘mixed-income” occupancy developments, which will
further reduce the number of affordable housing units in the
city. Many public hosing residents and affordable housing
advocates and activists who opposed the demolition were locked out of the
proceedings and met with unnecessary law enforcement aggression inside
and outside of the Council Chambers, resulting in many people being
pepper sprayed and tasered. <br><br>
Public housing residents in New Orleans are predominately Black women and
children. Denying people of color and low-income communities safe,
affordable housing is an act of violence, which increases women’s
vulnerability to domestic and sexual violence, poverty, ill-health, and
criminalization. Affordable housing is an anti-violence
issue. It’s also a population control issue, rooted in racial and
class cleansing, and reproductive violence. Gentrification and
forced displacement is happening to women of color and our communities
across the U.S. and abroad.<br><br>
Below is an appeal letter from the New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic, a
project WHJI established. Please consider supporting this critical
work as one way to build the capacity of women of color-led movements for
peace, justice, and safety.<br><br>
New Orleans Women's Health & Justice Initiative<br><br>
<div align="center">*************************************************<br>
<br>
</div>
<br><br>
December 2007<br><br>
<i>“Moving from the margins to the center is vital for the health and
well being of women of color and poor women. To do so, we must
address the control and exploitation of our bodies and the regulation of
our reproduction. We must center our needs and experiences by
designing a table without restrictions or exploitation, dictating who can
sit where and when….creating a location which we feel is ours to sit at
and be heard…The New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic is that
table.”<br><br>
</i><div align="right">-Shana griffin<br><br>
</div>
<br><br>
Dear Supporters of the New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic:<br><br>
Even before Hurricane Katrina, women of color and low income women in New
Orleans lacked access to basic health care. Today, twenty-eight
months after the storm, the limited health care resources that existed
before the storm for low income and uninsured individuals have yet to be
replaced, despite repeated commitments by public officials to create a
“better system.” In reality, this “better system” includes
plans to shift from public services to subsidized private health
insurance, leaving over 60 percent of Louisiana ’s most vulnerable
residents without health insurance or a safety net. <br><br>
Combined with the loss of needed public resources and the continuation of
economic isolation, gender inequality, environmental hazards, limited
housing affordability, and racial discrimination, this lack of services
and access to safe, affordable preventative care is equal to a public
health disaster that directly impacts women of color and low-income women
– particularly those who are young, uninsured, immigrant, elders, head of
households, HIV/AIDS positive, homeless, sex workers, queer,
disabled/differently-abled, incarcerated and formerly incarcerated, and
living in public housing – as they face increased barriers to health
care.<br><br>
The need to organize to address this public health crisis in New Orleans
is clear, but the specific needs of women and the issues of sexual and
reproductive oppression have not been prioritized in the rebuilding of
the city. The manifestations of ill-health, lack of
preventative care, inadequate medical resources, and the absence of a
comprehensive health policy paint an unpromising picture as the voices of
low income and uninsured women of color are largely
silenced. Despite this harsh reality, <b>the New
Orleans Women’s Health Clinic (NOWHC), a women of color-led project, has
become a CRITICAL resource with vast potential for comprehensive health
education and grassroots organizing activities.<br><br>
</b>The mission of the New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic is to equip
marginalized and underserved women with the means to control and care for
their own bodies, sexuality, and reproduction through a holistic,
community-centered well women approach to health care which integrates
sexual health and reproductive justice. Through the organizing and
health advocacy work of INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence, the New
Orleans Women’s Health Clinic was conceived to combine health services
with a political analysis of the oppression that prevents low income,
uninsured, immigrant, disabled/differently-abled, formerly incarcerated,
and LBTQ women of color from receiving comprehensive health care.
<br><br>
NOWHC not only provides health care services, but also addresses the
social invisibility of low-income women of color that allows their needs
to be chronically ignored and unmet. As corporate healthcare
programs attempt to fill the gaps in health care existing for low-income
women in New Orleans , NOWHC stands out as a clinic that is grassroots in
origin and support, and that incorporates an analysis of the root causes
of the current health care crisis into the services it provides.
<br><br>
<b>Since the New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic opened in May of this
year, the demand for our services has steadily increased month by month.
</b> We currently provide a range of gynecological care and preliminary
obstetrical visits including pregnancy testing and counseling; pap
smears; pelvic exams; diagnosis and treatment of irregular menstruation,
vaginal, urinary tract, and sexually transmitted infections;
comprehensive sex education and access to safe and effective
contraceptives; and prenatal care and education. The low cost
sliding fee scale rates of the Clinic are possible due to the support
we’ve received this year, most of which has come from individuals like
you.<br><br>
Most recently, we established a Women’s Healthcare Fund, designed to
ensure that uninsured women who cannot afford the cost of care or
medications can receive care at NOWHC. In the coming year, NOWHC
plans to begin providing midwifery care, expand our services to gender
variant people, conduct educational workshops at the Clinic space and in
community settings throughout the city, and engage in base building
activities to build support and awareness of the Clinic locally and
nationally.<br><br>
At NOWHC, we are working to build the “table,” as we continue to assist
women access safe, affordable, and quality health services and resources
they need to take care of their over health, bodies, sexuality, and
reproductive. To continue this, we are asking you to support
the New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic in the following ways:
<ul>
<li><b>Make a financial contribution to the New Orleans Women’s Health
Clinic.</b> We rely primarily on donations from individuals such as
you to provide sliding scale medical services to local women, and
organize to build our long-term capacity. Donations help NOWHC to pay
living wage salaries, rent and maintain our space, and cover the cost of
laboratory services for uninsured women. A financial
contribution of $50 will provide an annual exam for a woman who otherwise
could not afford one, through our Women’s Health Care Fund. Hosting
a benefit house party will raise enough for a supplies order or a piece
of medical equipment, as well as spread the word about NOWHC. In
addition to financial donations, we are also accepting gift cards from
Office Depot, and prepaid medical supply orders through PSS Medical
Supplies. <b>Financial contributions should be made out to our
fiscal sponsor: Women With A Vision, with NOWHC listed in the memo line
of check</b>. Checks and gift cards should be mailed to:
</font>
</ul><font size=3><br>
</font><font face="Georgia" size=2>New Orleans Women’s Health
Clinic<br><br>
1406 Esplanade Ave. <br><br>
New Orleans , LA 70116
<ul>
<li><b>Spread the word about the New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic.</b>
Publicity in local, national, and international press helps NOWHC spread
the word about our services, connects us with people engaged in similar
work, provides publicity, and generates support. But, it’s
something we often don’t have time to coordinate ourselves. If you have
an idea for an article, please contact us at 504.524.8255 or at
<a href="mailto:nowhc_info@yahoo.com">nowhc_info@yahoo.com</a> for an
interview and press points. Alternately, reach people directly by
spreading the word about NOWHC to five potential donors. Your direct
appeal saves us time and administrative costs!</font><font size=3>
</font>
<li><font face="Georgia" size=2><b>Donate needed supplies to the New
Orleans Women’s Health Clinic.</b> The supplies that NOWHC uses daily
really add up. Additionally, there are several pieces of
medical equipment that we still need. If you would like to sponsor a
supply order, or have supplies or equipment to donate, please contact
Cassandra Burrows at
<a href="mailto:nowhc_info@yahoo.com">nowhc_info@yahoo.com</a> to
determine if NOWHC can use them, or to get a list of needed
supplies. Please don’t send unsolicited material. </font>
</ul><font size=3><br>
</font><font face="Georgia" size=2>The New Orleans Women’s Health Clinic
warmly thanks our network of donors and volunteers for your continued
generous support. You are needed now more than ever. Our ability to
provide needed services, maintain autonomy, and participate in grassroots
organizing is made possible through the support of individuals and
organizations in our community and nationwide. <br><br>
<br>
Sincerely, <br><br>
<br>
Shana M. griffin, Interim
Director
<br><br>
Isabel Barrios, Board Member<br><br>
Rosana Cruz, Board Member<br><br>
Monique Harden, Board Member<br><br>
Deon Haywood, Board Member<br><br>
Mayaba Liebenthal, Board Member<br><br>
Thea Patterson, Board Member<br><br>
<br>
</font><x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<font size=3 color="#FF0000">Freedom Archives<br>
522 Valencia Street<br>
San Francisco, CA 94110<br><br>
</font><font size=3 color="#008000">415 863-9977<br><br>
</font><font size=3 color="#0000FF">
<a href="http://www.freedomarchives.org/" eudora="autourl">
www.Freedomarchives.org</a></font><font size=3> </font></body>
</html>