Family

Mothering Justice Hosts Women Legislators

THE AFRO — Key agenda items for the organization is raising the minimum wage, family medical leave insurance (FMLI), maternal justice– which champions issues of infant and maternal mortality and sustaining safety net programs for mothers and families such as SNAP and Medicaid.

Published

5 years ago

May 20, 2019

Oakland Post

By George Kevin Jordan

It was a meeting of the minds as Mothering Justice held a discussion panel with some of the countries top leaders to discuss issues that dramatically impact women, mothers and families.

Several attendees gathered at the American Federation of Teachers on New Jersey Ave. NW, as well as online for the livestream of the event. In attendance were Rep. Bed Haaland, (D-MI), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) and a host of other thought leaders and policy makers.

Mothering Justice is a statewide organization based in Michigan dedicated to empowering mothers to lobbyists. The organization works in advocacy, leadership development, and voter engagement.

Key agenda items for the organization is raising the minimum wage, family medical leave insurance (FMLI), maternal justice– which champions issues of infant and maternal mortality and sustaining safety net programs for mothers and families such as SNAP and Medicaid.

Rep. Tlaib shared stories of real women, her constituents facing inequities in Michigan, from the shutting down of day care programs, to lead in the water, saying, “It’s really important as we look at these policy issues that we also uplift these stories, and if we do nothing what that looks like.”

“It’s hard out here. I am very vulnerable cause I’m like ‘what do you mean you don’t understand why people are on the food line when there’s a shutdown? ‘Well why can’t they get a loan?’ That’s the reality of what we have in Congress,” Tlaib said.

“The movement outside the halls of Congress is where things are going to happen.”

One of the main issues on the table was Labor Project for Working Families.

“When we don’t have paid medical leave, families lose money,” said Carol Joyner, director of the Labor Project for Working Families (LPWF) with Family Values at Work (FV@W)

“These are purely economic issues. We’re hoping we see the strongest paid leave bill out of Congress to cover [those] who need time to welcome a new baby, take care of someone sick in their family or take care of themselves.”

Sade Moonsammy, director of operations and strategic planning for LPWF with FV@W, said it’s also important to address our ever expanding concept of family.

“It’s also talking about the definition of family and who’s involved in family. This is an issue beyond women. This is a non-binary issue, it’s a trans issue; this is how we look at all the intersections of family. It doesn’t matter if it passes, if families are cut out of it.”

“Before you can fix any problem you have to know it’s happening,” Rep. Lawrence said. “When you look at poverty in America the largest group is women and children. A woman in poverty- almost 60 percent of her pay goes to childcare. When we look at the largest amount of student debt it’s women.”

Sen. Harris brought home the fact that mother’s issues is everyone’s issue saying, “What is good for the mothers of our country is good for the babies of our country, is good for our country.”

“There have been many times when people come up to me and say ‘Kamala tell us about women’s issues.’ And I say, ‘You know what I am so glad you want to talk about the economy.’ Because we know when you lift up the economic status of women, you lift up the economic status of families of neighborhoods and community and all of society.”

Danielle Atkinson, founding director of the organization said next steps for Mothering Justice, is to “continue to push this issue in the state.”

“We are organizing, but we want to continue to raise these issues and make sure they are front and center in 2020,” Atkinson said. “In all of those races the presidential, the congressional, those candidates are forced to address these issues and what their plan is to solve them.”For more information about Mothering Justice and their movement please go to https://motheringjustice.org/

This article originally appeared in The Afro.

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Richmond Nonprofit YES Nature to Neighborhoods Plans Major Renovation

Richmond nonprofit YES Nature to Neighborhoods is planning a significant renovation of its headquarters at 3029 Macdonald Ave., around 31st street. The nonprofit serving youth and families in Richmond is requesting a design review permit to demolish the one-story, 2,218-square-foot building and a 95-square-foot shed, and to replace them with a new 4,480-square-foot, two-story building.

Published

1 week ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Rendering of renovation courtesy of City of Richmond documents.

The Richmond Standard

Richmond nonprofit YES Nature to Neighborhoods is planning a significant renovation of its headquarters at 3029 Macdonald Ave., around 31st street.

The nonprofit serving youth and families in Richmond is requesting a design review permit to demolish the one-story, 2,218-square-foot building and a 95-square-foot shed, and to replace them with a new 4,480-square-foot, two-story building.

The new building would consist of office and meetings spaces with a 345-square-foot addition to the existing garage on the property, according to city documents. The nonprofit will host youth, adult, and family programming on and off the site.

The nonprofit also proposes to repair sidewalks, replace planters and a fence, add lighting, and provide interior open space, among other improvements.

The city’s Design Review Board was set to review the plans at its meeting this evening on April 10. For more info, go to https://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/68830/3_PLN23-316-3029-MacDonald-Ave_DRB20240410—Apr-10

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Families Flock to New Farmers Market in Marina Bay

The City of Richmond’s first farmers market in Marina Bay kicked off Sunday, April 7 with a large swell of community members coming out to enjoy the occasion. The long-anticipated market set up shop in the parking lot off Regatta Boulevard and Melville Square in Richmond and featured music and dancing, arts and crafts, chess, multiple vendors and some fresh produce from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Published

1 week ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

The crowd at the new Marina Bay farmers’ market. Photo by Kathy Chouteau.

By Kathy Chouteau
The Richmond Standard

The City of Richmond’s first farmers market in Marina Bay kicked off Sunday, April 7 with a large swell of community members coming out to enjoy the occasion.

The long-anticipated market set up shop in the parking lot off Regatta Boulevard and Melville Square in Richmond and featured music and dancing, arts and crafts, chess, multiple vendors and some fresh produce from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Numerous families turned out for the event, many with their children and family dogs.

The market will continue on Sundays and is operated by the Richmond Certified Farmers Market Association. For more information or to become a vendor, go to https://cirichmondca-newsletter.app.transform.civicplus.com/forms/39634

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For Cervical Cancer Month, Medical Community Focused on Education

January was Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. Physicians, advocates and others in the medical community commemorated the month by raising awareness about a form of cancer they say is highly preventable and treatable. Cervical cancer is caused by a virus called the human papillomavirus (HPV) and it develops slowly over time but can be prevented with proper care in girls as young as 13 years old.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

A Mayo Clinic article published last month stated that Black women are more likely to be diagnosed and die of cervical cancer, compared to White women in the U.S. 2,000 Black women are diagnosed every year with cervical cancer and 40% die as a result.

By Magaly Muñoz

January was Cervical Cancer Awareness Month.

Physicians, advocates and others in the medical community commemorated the month by raising awareness about a form of cancer they say is highly preventable and treatable.

Cervical cancer is caused by a virus called the human papillomavirus (HPV) and it develops slowly over time but can be prevented with proper care in girls as young as 13 years old.

Sonia Ordonez, an OBGYN and gynecology surgeon at Kaiser Permanente, stated that as soon as people with cervixes reach the maturity reproductive age, they should start taking preventative measures like getting the HPV vaccine. The vaccine involves a series of two-doses for people aged 9 through 14 or three-doses for people 15 through 45 years old.

“I see a lot of young women who can’t remember or may not have gotten [the vaccine] when they were younger, or maybe got one, but we can give them the series of vaccines and restart at any point in time,” Ordonez said.

She said that cervical cancer is not the only cancer caused by HPV. Strains of the virus can also lead to throat, anal and penile cancers.

Screening is also an effective way to check for cervical cancer and should be done every three years after someone turns 21, doctors recommend. It is best to start as early as possible to catch occurrences early.

Ordonez said that this cancer is also more likely found in people of color and has led to more deaths overall.

A Mayo Clinic article published last month stated that Black women are more likely to be diagnosed and die of cervical cancer, compared to White women in the U.S.

2,000 Black women are diagnosed every year with cervical cancer and 40% die as a result.

“This disparity is not due to genetic differences among White, Black or Hispanic women, but rather related to systemic racism, access to healthcare and socioeconomic factors,” Dr. Olivia Cardenas-Trowers, a Mayo Clinic urogynecologist, said in the article.

Ordonez stated that immigrant women are also highly susceptible to the cancer, as many Latin American countries may not have accessibility to screenings or lack of insurance makes it harder for them to get tested.

Hispanic women are 40% more likely to be diagnosed with cervical cancer, and 30% more likely to die from it, as compared to non-Hispanic White women, according to the Office of Minority Health.

Family medicine physician, Joy Anyanwu, stated that the pandemic contributed to hesitancy about getting cervical cancer screenings among some women. Other factors are people’s aversion to vaccines, parents not wanting to believe that their children are or will become sexually active, and doubt about the overall effectiveness of the vaccine.

“The vaccine is very safe — over 97% effective in preventing cervical cancer,” Anyanwu said. “Even if you aren’t having sex, the earlier you start would actually help.”

Anyanwu said she understands that parents might not want to ask questions about their children’s reproductive health, but it’s a mindset that can be a barrier to having important conversation about prevention or care.

To keep families their families and communties healthy, the doctor emphasized that people should prioritize keeping up with their vaccine series and going to screenings every year.