Most families who receive welfare live in dire poverty. Even with the aid that California Work Opportunities and Responsibility to Children (CalWORKs) provides, families frequently cannot afford to obtain the basic necessities of life. One factor that determines the amount of cash benefits a family receives is [...]

Originally posted at Strong Families By Erin Konsmo  In many ways, the Native Youth Sexual Health Network is a family that works together and throughout Turtle Island to reclaim ourselves through sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice. Health:

Originally posted at Strong Families By Bernardita Yunis

For a writer, I could not have struggled more with getting words down on paper for this post. I consider my Mother to be the most important person in my life, the reason for my being, and the answer to all my questions about why I am the way I [...]

Originally posted at Strong Families By Anthony Carli

Tears barreled down my face; I stumbled from my seat into the aisle of the school bus and hurriedly disembarked. My heart stung like a piece of its flesh had been torn off and left on the bus with the other fourth graders. Some shouted and laughed with treacherous glee, [...]

My mother has become the Voldemort of my writing, she who shall not be named .   With Mama’s Day looming near, and everyone saying things that actually matter, writing about my mom has become almost inevitable.  Because writing about her scares the shit out of me, I’ve committed to doing it wholeheartedly. I googled “mom,” combed the [...]

This blog is part of Strong Families  Mama’s Day Our Way blog series . Make and send a custom Mama’s Day e-card at  http://www.mamasday.org. Strong Families  is a national initiative led by  Forward Together . Our goal is to change the way people think, act and talk about families. This past Sunday marked the one year anniversary of my abortion. In part [...]

This blog is part of Strong Families  Mama’s Day Our Way blog series . Make and send a custom Mama’s Day e-card at  http://www.mamasday.org. Strong Families  is a national initiative led by  Forward Together . Our goal is to change the way people think, act and talk about families. This past Sunday marked the one year anniversary of my abortion. In part [...]

Mother of five, business of no one.  Throughout women’s reproductive years, judgment and opinions are issued by family, friends and sometimes even strangers.  The War on Women is alive and well, both in and out of the bedroom. It’s alive in the limitless questions, loaded with judgment, that even complete strangers feel justified in asking [...]

by Shanelle Matthews

By Nina Jacinto I remember the first time I talked to my partner about children. It was early on in our relationship and felt safe to ask about, since it was still clear we weren’t necessarily talking about children we’d have with each other. “How do you feel about having children?” I had asked. I sank back [...]

Photo credit Michael Yarish/AMC by Nina Jacinto cross posted from Strong Families I’m a Mad Men fan, and over the years I’ve patiently waited for race and racism to play a bigger role in the popular AMC show. For those of you who aren’t watching, it’s set in 1960s America and revolves around the personal and professional lives of an [...]

by Nina Jacinto cross posted at Strong Families I’m a big Mad Men fan. My partner and I religiously watch the show and are completely invested in its themes of sexism, power struggle and broken expectations. So I was thrilled to discover Elisa Kreisenger’s latest remixed video. Entitled ” QueerMen: Don Loves Roger Mad Men Remix ,” [...]

by Shanelle Matthews, Communications Manager at Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice Cross-posted from Strong Families As the news of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin’s murder floods the airwaves I sit, familiarly reflective and saddened by the loss of yet another Black life at the hands of a sanctimonious racist. But like many of you, I know that this experience is not [...]

By Shanelle Matthews, Communications Manager In 2011 women’s bodies monopolized political debate as the Right attempted to defund Title X facilities and strip reproductive healthcare access for millions of women nationwide. Congress pulled out all stops to slash funding for women’s reproductive services targeting Planned Parenthood and gunning for families with the greatest need. While anti-choicers [...]

I have had the good fortune of collaborating with and learning alongside the Rebecca Project for Human Rights .  They do immensely important work led by women, largely mothers, who have been incarcerated. They have made incredible policy strides, including limiting the use of shackles on pregnant women in federal prisons, as well as providing leadership tools for [...]

By Lisa Russ, Strong Families Although the Governor did not veto the anti-shackling bill (AB568) until yesterday, the writing was on the wall.  When we found out that the Sheriffs were taking strong opposition , we knew that was likely the kiss of death. I held onto a shred of hope though. Our governor is Jerry Brown…that gave me [...]

By Lisa Russ, Strong Families As the clock tics, Governor Brown still has a stack of bills on his desk, all due to be acted upon, signed or vetoed, by this Sunday. He signed the bill to ban BPA from baby bottles yesterday, which is an important victory and we are thrilled.  Issues like this especially impact low-income [...]

As the Radiance Foundation moved from city to city with it’s racist billboard campaign, one thing has been notably absent.  How are people in the community responding?  Several reproductive justice l eaders and allies have written moving posts, bloggers have analyzed, journalists have interviewed key leaders from both sides.  But other than very short quotes in the news stories , no [...]