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#December 2nd #mustardseed : Don't forget ANYONE! We are not alone in this life. (at Sententia Vera)

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YWCA Advocacy Town Hall Meeting

PRESS RELEASE

YW Stands Against Racism & Racial Profiling 

Austin, TX, Friday, May 29, 2015 –YWCA Greater Austin is dedicated to eliminating racism and empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. The purpose of the YWCA Greater Austin's Advocacy Committee is to effectively and efficiently engage in local and national advocacy efforts that will promote the YWCA mission and vision as well as increasing community engagement, fostering partnerships, and providing leadership development.

Founded by the YWCA Trenton and YWCA Princeton in 2007, Stand Against Racism is now a signature campaign of YWCA USA. This campaign is designed to build community among those who work for racial justice and to raise awareness about the negative impact of institutional and structural racism. Stand Against Racism is one part of our larger national strategy to fulfill our mission of eliminating racism.

YWCA Greater Austin Advocates stand against racism. The YWCA ATX is committed to hosting ongoing events, private or public, where participants may gather to take part in a wide range of local trainings, discussion groups, community education, public policy advocacy, and more! It has already taken steps to Stand Against Racism by first signing the National Pledge Against Racism. The April YWCA Dialogue on Issues of Race & Discrimination was dedicated to the campaign by holding an open, honest, productive conversation with many voices in the room on the topic of Communities Confronting Racial Profiling. The YWCA ATX Advocates would like to continue and expand the conversation with the Greater Austin community.

The YWCA Advocacy Town Hall Meeting on Standing Against Racism & Racial Profiling is scheduled for Monday, June 15, 2015 at 6.30 PM at the Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex, 1156 Hargrave Street, Austin, TX 78702. The event schedule includes a skit, panel discussion, audience Q&A, and next steps. Panelists were invited from various ethnic communities, neighborhood associations, local public officials and public servants.  All are invited to join the discussion in a safe and open environment.

The YWCA ATX Advocates hope to accomplish the following,

Hold a safe place for people to express themselves,

Connect with others who are interested in systemic change,

Educate the community that this is a problem that is racially motivated,

Unite voices that have been historically split, and

Figure out what next steps need to happen and how.

The YWCA’s commitment to racial justice is one of the common threads that unite local YWCAs across the country. Nearly 300,000 individuals participate in YWCA racial justice programs annually, addressing systemic barriers in the criminal justice system, housing, health care and education. Approximately half of our local associations train law enforcement officials, host dialogues and develop private-public collaborations.

The YWCA supports legislation that bans the practice of racial profiling at the federal, state, and local levels. We believe that all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, or gender should be ensured justice and protected equally under the law. This includes policies that eradicate racial profiling. The federal government’s involvement is vital to ending racial profiling practices by law enforcement in communities of color. We look forward to working policymakers to correcting patterns of systemic racial bias in policing and its negative and often lethal impact on various communities of color. ~YWCA USA Position Contact for Further Information:

Teresa Carbajal Ravet

Tel. 512.326.1222

advocacy@ywcaaustin.org

www.YWCAaustin.org

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House Republicans are at it again! We need you to contact your Representatives now and tell them that you support access to safe, legal abortion.

The House will vote today on an extreme, unconstitutional, 20-week abortion ban that would, once again, puts politics above women’s health and rights.

We can’t let that happen!

Not only is this ban an attack on Roe, its exceptions for rape and incest are inhumane and put undue burdens on victims under 18 to report to authorities and could re-traumatize and damage the victim. And victims over 18 must seek counseling or medical attention at least 48 hours before the procedure, causing multiple unnecessary trips to clinics.

House Republicans had previously attempted to pass this extreme bill on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, but were forced to pull the bill from the floor because they could not get adequate support. Anti-choice politicians are now saying that the ban is different, but make no mistake, this bill is a direct attack on women and Roe v. Wade and would ban even some pre-viability abortions.

Congress must stop wasting time and money on unconstitutional measures that attack women’s health and rights. Tell Congress that enough is enough.

We won’t go back!

For Women’s Lives,

Eleanor Smeal

President, Feminist Majority

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An epic showdown for reproductive rights is coming to Congress this week.

The House will likely vote on a dangerous, sweeping bill that would outlaw abortion after 20 weeks in nearly every case.

Our allies in Congress are preparing for a tough fight, but they need you to add your voice. We’re creating a list of people from every corner of the country who support reproductive rights—a list of names that can be read out loud by members of Congress to amplify the broad opposition to the ban.

We need 10,000 supporters to go on the record and help us “Bust the Ban.” All it takes is one click to join, so add your name now.

Fourteen states have already enacted a 20-week ban, and now radicals in the U.S. Congress want to impose their beliefs on the rest of the country.

You and I and all of the defenders of women’s health are the only ones standing in their way.

Your name, in the hands of allies in Congress, would be a bold statement that you won’t sit by and let extremists take away your rights.

Click to add your name to Bust the Ban now—and stand up for your health and rights:

http://support.reproductiverights.org/BustTheBan

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YWCA greater austin is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.

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A Call to Action from Planned Parenthood Texas

Last week Texas lawmakers showed how low they are willing to go to score political points.

In the House, Rep. Geanie Morrison introduced HB 3994, which targets abandoned or abused teens who cannot obtain parental consent for safe, legal abortion and need a judicial bypass. While women’s health champions proposed amendments to protect victims of rape or incest, women without government IDs, and judges who hear these cases, members who supported this egregious bill laughed and Morrison refused to debate or answer important questions about the legislation. In the end, no amendments were accepted.  

The bill was passed by the House and now HB 3994 is scheduled to be heard on Monday before the Senate Health & Human Services Committee.

JOIN THE FIGHT IN AUSTIN! Click here to RSVP and let us know if you can be at the Texas State Capitol on Monday, May 18 starting at 8:00 am.

Lawmakers have made it fully clear that they’re willing to put the lives of vulnerable teenagers who need protection at risk.

Right now, every voice matters. Please join us in Austin to add your voice to the fight and make sure that lawmakers know we’re not backing down!

We’ve got a fight for the most vulnerable Texans on our hands and will keep you posted every step of the way.

Yvonne Gutierrez Executive Director, Planned Parenthood Texas Votes

P.S. If you can’t join us in Austin, make sure you like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. We’ll keep you up to date about the latest legislative actions around women’s health.

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Full house at the #ABHN & @YWatx Hidden Epidemic: #Bullying & #AsianAmerican #Youth. #mentalhealth (at Asian American Resource Center)

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Support for HB 3995 Needed

The Texas Medical Association filed a lawsuit against the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapy Board attempting to remove the ability to diagnose clients. LMFT's and other mental health professionals are well trained and qualified to make mental health diagnoses. Without a diagnosis, most clients would be unable to utilize their health insurance benefits to pay for treatment without going to a medical doctor first. Supporting for this bill is important as all other mental health professionals may be the next targets of the TMA. This not only impacts the professionals, but also the public. It would result in decreasing the access to care for all Texans.

Therefore, it is imperative that we get calls into the chair and members of the Public Health Committee, and their chiefs of staff politely asking for them to support HB 3995. This is an essential step if HB 3995 is to have a prayer of getting to the next step of the legislative process.

HB 3995 would modify Chapter 502 of the Occupations Code (governing Marriage and Family Therapists) to allow LMFTs to utilize the DSM and other diagnostic resources in connection with any claim for payment or reimbursement from a health insurance policy issuer or any other payor.

http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/Text.aspx?LegSess=84R&Bill=HB3995

Public Health Committee Contact Information is below:

Myra Crownover, Chair (R-Lake Dallas) – 512-463-0582 – Chief of Staff, Miranda Goodsheller (Miranda.goodsheller@house.state.tx.us)

Elliot Naishtat, Vice Chair (D-Austin) – 512-463-0668 – Chief of Staff, Judith Dale (Judith.dale@house.state.tx.us)

Cesar Blanco, (D-El Paso) – 512-463-0622 – Chief of Staff, Rebecca Acuna (Rebecca.acuna@house.state.tx.us)

Garnet Coleman (D-Houston) – 512-463-0524 – Chief of Staff, Christopher Walker (Christopher.walker@house.state.tx.us)

Nicole Collier (D-Fort Worth) – 512-463-0716 - Chief of Staff, Jacob Limon (Jacob.limon@house.state.tx.us)

Sarah Davis (R-West University Place Houston) – 512-463-0389 – Chief of Staff, Hunter Hughes (hunter.hughes@house.state.tx.us)

Bobby Guerra (D-McAllen) – 512-463-0578 – Chief of Staff, Anne Drescher (anne.drescher@house.state.tx.us)

Rick Miller (R-Sugar Land) – 512-463-0710 – Chief of Staff, Courtney Hjaltman (Courtney.hjaltman@house.state.tx.us)

J.D. Sheffield (R-Gatesville) – 512-463-0628 – Chief of Staff, Andrew Johnson (Andrew.johnson@house.state.tx.us)

Bill Zedler (R-Arlington) – 512-463-0374 – Chief of Staff, Matt Posey (matthew.posey@house.state.tx.us)

John Zerwas (R-Richmond) – 512-463-0657 – Chief of Staff, Nelda Hunter (nelda.hunter@house.state.tx.us)

Please keep in mind that we need to be respectful in our request.

Recommended Transcript for your phone call: It is my understanding that HB 3995, authored by Representative Romero, relating to the practice of marriage and family therapy, is set for next Tuesday’s meeting. This is a very important bill and will help ensure timely access to mental health care for all Texans. Would you please let Representative ____________ know that I called and that I’m encouraging him/her to support Rep. Representative Romero on HB 3995.

It is very important to contact your family members, community physicians, nurses, therapists, ministers, probation officers, teachers, principals, neighbors, friends, etc. and urge them to contact the member of the Public Health Committee above and encourage them to support HB 3995 in order to ensure that your community members continue to receive access to mental health treatment in Texas. If TMA succeeds in the lawsuit against TSBEMFT, they will then have set precedent and could file similar suits against Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Clinical Social Workers, and Licensed Psychologists.

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Justice delayed is justice denied. Sign the National Pledge Against #Racism. #StandAgainstRacism http://thndr.it/1EJn9rP

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Exploring the @BlueHole w/ #friends. (at Blue Hole Regional Park - Wimberly)

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@YWatx Cossie-King #Conference #Room transformation in progress. Great space #ForRent. (at YWCA)

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Don't let a little wind keep you from getting a #FREE #mani in your fav color! Come by the @ywatx #SallyNailTour! 'til 4 PM! (at YWCA Greater Austin)

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The #SallyNailTour is here! Come by to set your #mani appt & visit w/ the @ywatx ladies. #FREE (at YWCA)

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The YWCA -- with more than 200 local associations in 47 states -- invites Mr. Schultz, Starbucks and everyone to participate in our annual Stand Against Racism campaign, beginning with a National Day of Action on April 23....

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For Reporting Purposes Only

As one of the facilitators of the YWCA Greater Austin monthly Racism and Discrimination Dialogues, which have now been active for over a year, I often hear people’s concerns and out right anger over various systemic oppressions.  People express frustrations and experiences with micro-aggressions and direct discrimination.  Ironically, our program is now being asked to contribute to the system of oppression by categorizing people for the benefit of the larger systems.

I can appreciate the necessity for the data collection to analyze trends and gaps in services, however it seems this process can alienate and further discriminate against people seeking services or in this case, participants of the dialogues. Ironically, we facilitated a dialogue in 2014 titled “Do I fit in the Box?”  This was a discussion about the categories people are made to choose from as identifiers for race/ethnicities, gender, sexuality, etc. To this day, well-meaning systems require this information from organizations receiving funds, of people seeking certain services or opportunities, etc. without considering the impact these categories have on people and the community as a whole. These categories, at times used for positive purposes, pigeon hole people into a selected group, which, in and of itself, is infinitely diverse.  During this particular dialogue people discussed identity crises they experienced from having to check a box that did not adequately represent them. They expressed anger towards the history of racism associated with these categories, and outrage that the U.S. would use such labels, unknown in other parts of the world, to categorize people.  Personally, I experienced my own frustrations having to “identify” my son’s ethnicity when registering for kindergarten; having to label him so early in life to fulfill outmoded structures of socialization and identity which contribute to generalizations and minimize the richness of individuals. If we really desire to use demographics in a helpful manner, we need to ask what services people need, language they prefer to speak and write, etc. rather than making assumptions about their needs based on race, ethnicity, and gender.

Regardless of people’s thoughts about these boxes, I encourage everyone to ask themselves these questions:  When you meet someone do you immediately try to guess their race/ethnicity and/or gender? If so, why is that important? Once having prescribed membership to groups, how does that help and what assumptions are drawn from your conclusions? Why is there such uneasiness in not knowing?

So will we collect this information from now on?  I understand the reasoning for collecting data and would like for us to do it in a way that aligns with our mission of empowering women and eliminating racism.  I have agreed to capture some of this information on a broader scale with the hope that people can self-identify and possibly capture the gamut of diversity represented in our audiences.  My longer-term goal is to educate others that categories, however well meaning, can extremely limit, oppress, perpetuate stereotypes, and divide a community.

Laura Gomez-Horton,

YWCA Clinical Director

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#AmplifyYWatx staff working hard for #AmplifyATX amplifying #empowerment (at La Mancha Tex Mex Tavern)

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#AmplifyYWatx #advocates! #AmplifyATX amplifying empowerment! (at La Mancha Tex Mex Tavern)