ADVOCATING FOR CHANGE
In May 2019, our Board of Directors entered a strategic dialogue to identify our local priorities and impact focus areas. While we know that there are many areas that are critical to racial justice and gender equality, our leadership chose to focus on Women’s Access to Healthcare, Recidivism and Reentry, and Census 2020 and Immigration in addition to our enhancing and expanding our community services.
When systemic and institutional decisions are made in these areas without a lens towards race and gender, women, people of color, and their families are significantly impacted.
Women’s Access to Healthcare
Quality, affordable, culturally-competent health care is critical to everyone, but for many women, children, people of color, and trauma survivors, getting the medical care and insurance coverage they need is a struggle. Moreover, unequal access to health care is a driving factor in racial disparities in maternal and other health outcomes in the U.S.
What we support:
- The Affordable Care Act
- Improving access to healthcare
- Trauma-informed care
- Comprehensive reproductive health services
- Improved maternal health outcomes for women of color
- Elimination of health disparities
Census 2020
YWCA’s mission to eliminate racism and empower women demands that we show up to advocate against the oppression that many groups and individuals endure. We recognize the interconnected experiences of discrimination and disadvantage that women face from their overlapping identities.
What we support:
- A full and fair census
- Restoration of the full protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965
- Legal protections for LGTBQ+ people
- Equal rights amendment
RECIDIVISM & REENTRY
Arizona imprisons women at almost twice the rate of other states and has the 2nd highest rate of female prisoners in the country. Women of color are disproportionately represented in the prison population and Arizona has the highest recidivism rate in the country. We are currently working with our partners across the county to understand the barriers and barriers women who are incarcerated face, as well as the impact of incarceration on their families.
IMMIGRATION
YWCA supports immigrants because we are committed to ensuring that those seeking safety and opportunity in the U.S. can arrive and live without fear, harm, or discrimination. Current immigration policies, however, have retraumatized survivors of violence, heightened fears, and exacerbated discrimination against immigrant communities. Any discussion of immigration must prioritize the safety of immigrant women, children, and families who often have experienced violence, trafficking, extreme poverty, and other threats to their safety and health.
What we support:
- The DREAM Act
- An end to family separation and family detention
- Asylum for survivors of violence
- Full and fair immigration and asylum proceedings