Welcome to Young Women United's e-Newletter.

I am Dominique Pierson the new Communications and Office Coordinator for Young Women United. I have been working for YWU for two months now. I have already learned so much since mid-April and look forward to learning more in the future. As the official new C.O.C. of YWU I will be taking on the responsibilities of bookkeeping and administrative duties. I will also be in charge of YWU communications and media projects. I will be involved with the upcoming reconstruction of youngwomenunited.org as well as taking over the responsibility of publishing future issues of this newsletter. In the future I will make sure to that this newsletter is sent out in a timely manner so that all of the YWU membership will be aware of the current campaigns as well as upcoming events and meetings.

I feel as if I am standing on the shoulders of the many women who have put their passions into making Young Women United what it is today. I am grateful that I get the chance to be a part of keeping this organization running smoothly. I will make sure that my taking over the administrative and communications needs of YWU will allow more time and focus on the membership of this organization. In this way I hope I can make it little bit easier for YWU to make a difference in the lives of young women of color.

Love, Panocha and Gay Pride,
Dominique Pierson

Don't Miss ABQ Pride 08

This year YWU is steping up her game at ABQ Pride 2008. Come by our Pride Booth on June 14th to eat out a chocolate vagina pop, play our vagina love trivia and add your voice to our anti-violence against women survey. Contact Amanda 541-324-8463 for info on how to join in the fun with YWU during Pride.

After Party at FIRE: Sin City, all womyns dance party at The Banque, ROOFTOP, 219 Central Ave NW, 3rd & Central.
Las Vegas Theme- Charitable Gambling with partial benefits going to your choice of four non-profits, come have some fun and support YWU . For more details visit www.firewomyn.com.

Attention:Open to ALL Adult Women of Color 18 - 100+, YWU's Panocha Platicas!

Young Women United's Panocha Pláticas were born from a workshop which was presented at the SisterSong "Let's Talk About Sex" Conference in 2007. The idea began with a group of women in California who started their plática group in an effort to promote positive sexuality and healing in the community. They created a discussion guide book and shared it with all those who attended their workshop, so that other women of color from around the country could begin Panocha Pláticas in their own communities.

Young Women United began hosting our own pláticas in March of 2008. We realized that we needed a space to celebrate our femininity, heal from our wounds, and learn more about our female bodies. Each month we gather at a different woman's home. The hostess chooses a recipe to share with the group and we all prepare the meal together. We eat dinner and then spend most of the time sharing stories and wisdom with each other. We talk about anything and everything related to the sexual health of women. The purpose of the plática is to claim ourselves, our sexuality, our bodies, and a way to resist how our voices have been silenced. Through plática we create a dialogue with each other as women through which healing is both implicit and explicit.

We invite women of color ages 18 to 100+ to join us for our next Panocha Plática. The only requirement is to come with ears ready to listen, lips ready to speak, hearts open. Leave judgments toward self and others behind. Confidentiality is a must. Working toward healing, solidarity, and social justice are our goal. Laughter, gasps, tears and deep connection are our hope.

For more information or to host a YWU Panocha Plática in your home please email panochaplatica@gmail.com.

Anti-Violence Against Women Intergenerational Campaign

More than 50% of the women in jail said they had been physically or sexually abused in the past, compared to more than 10% of the men" (US department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Annual Survey of Jails 2000).

YWU's first awareness efforts for our Anti violence Against Women campaign was targeted at Anti Rape and Dating violence. Women from both circles brainstormed messages and then created stickers for a mass sticker drop on high school and college campuses during the weeks of spring break. Members decided to continue creating awareness on the issue of Rape and dating violence through the end of July.

Don't miss our next Anti-Violence Campaign meeting on June 25th 5:30-7:30 at the YWU office *Help YWU collect Anti-Violence Surveys, Members have collected over 174 surveys from local women of color about violence against women. We are trying to assess what women of color locally feel are the most pressing issues of violence against women of our state. That information is being aggregated and will be used to help us focus, look at root causes and guide our next steps.

Many thanks to our presentors, Larry from ARCC and Miriam from Enlace Comunitario!

YWU and Kalpulli Izkalli's Collaboration

Kalpulli Izkalli and Young Women United are collaborating to create an intergenerational model Apprenticeship Program for young women of color ages 15 to 35, to provide continuity to and expand the collective of learners and teachers known as Promotoras Tradicionales, who promote and practice traditional medicine. As YWU entered our intergenerational anti violence against women campaign, our membership voiced a strong need for healing practices for ourselves and our communities as we expose violence against women and all the pain that this type of exposure surfaces. Simultaneously Kalpulli Izkalli was creating an apprenticeship program that intended to pass the knowledge of information on their health, healing and environmental justice work.

As apprentices we will learn and share with Kapulli Izkalli's Promotoras Tradicionales. We are getting hands on experience in different forms of traditional healing such as: massage, reiki, limpias(cleansings), and curaciones(healings). We will be making traditional medicines as well as all natural body products. Our knowledge sharing has included: making a natural first aid kit, the herstory of coyolxaqui, how to build herb gardens, presentations on each of the 4 sacred elements (earth, air, fire, water), building of the temazkal, and assisting promotoras during the community clinics.

From the growing needs as young mothers, YWU has developed a workshop to dialouge and share the meaning and experiences of revolutionary motherhood. We have been inspired and motivated to takeback the sacaredness of motherhood, deciding when and how we wish to bring children into this world. We embrace the core values in traditional and spiritual midwifery in order to help improve birth outcomes and the overall birth experiences of women of color.

During the months of September - November the apprenticeship will include a "Promotora del Parto Natural" training conducted by Luna y Sol Midwifery. We are excited to build a collective of "Promotoras del Parto Natural" who will provide free support and assistance during pregnancy and labor to low income women of color in Albuquerque.

On average Doula (or Promotora del Parto Natural) attended births provide:

• Reduction in cesarean rates and shorter labors.
  
• Reduction in epidural request and analgesia use.
  
• Reduction in vacuum and forceps deliveries.
  
• Improvement of the mother / infant bond.
  
• Improved satisfaction with partner after birth.
  
• Higher breastfeeding success rate.
  

The apprenticeship knowledge sharings are open to the public, so come to learn, share and grow with us next time. Please see left column for June Apprenticeship dates. For more information about this program or to receive a full calendar of workshops & activities please contact Andrea Garza at 505.831.8930, or amayahuel@hotmail.com.

Circle of Strength Updates

the Fight for Sex Education continues...
COS continues to collect Sex ed questionnaires from all of the APS high schools in order to assess the realities of Sexuality Educaiton in our public schools. COS plans to launch their Sex Ed Report Card publically in attempts to create community awareness and accountability of the state mandates that insure healthy sexuality education for all public schools, which COS and others have fought so hard to attain for New Mexico.

During the month of May YWU conducted Sex Ed Sessions at Nuestros Valores Charter School and Truman Middle School. In the future we hope to continue to build our Sex Ed curriculum and create a Train the Trainers program. We are committed to peer sexulity education and ensuring the voices of young people are present and heard. To do so, we continue to participate in the APS School Health Advisory Council (SHAC), and are active coalition partners of New Mexicans for Responsible Sexuality Education, where we come together monthly with local allies and supporters. Here we are able to gather information about what's going down in other parts of the state, on a national level, and to stay abreast of information about policy & policymakers. New Mexico is fortunate to have such strong support for this issue in our community! If you would like more information on YWU's Sex Ed Initiatives please do not hesitate to contact Andrea Garza at 505.831.8930.

On Behalf of the women of YWU,
Adriann Barboa- Development Coordinator and Community Organizer
Andrea Garza- Community Organizer
Dominique Pierson - Communication and Office Coordinator
Monica Trujillo - YWU Collective Member (Board of Directors)