Nicole Clark, MSW

“What are us grown folks doing to support young women and girls of color to take our place in this movement[?] Who are we mentoring? Who are we sharing our work with? How are we transitioning OUT of roles that we hold the moment we arrive? And when is the last time someone held us accountable when we were out of pocket? These are questions that I ask myself everyday.” ~ Sasha

Women Making Moves is a monthly series that highlights how women and girls of color are raising their voices to improve the health and lives of many in the areas of sexual/reproductive health, holistic wellness, feminism, activism, entrepreneurship, the arts and sciences, and more.

Meet Sasha Neha Ahuja. Sasha is a community organizer and healthcare/wellness provider from New York City. She has worked to organize at the intersections of migration and labor for almost a decade. Trained as a social worker, her role as a facilitator of community-centered and community-directed wellness underlines her commitment to justice. Sasha has devoted her work to political education projects with South Asian and Indo-Caribbean youth, organizing for justice in the labor movement, and social work practice from an accountable, anti-racist framework. Sasha currently works in reproductive health, and provides full-spectrum birth/abortion doula services. She holds a BA from Hunter College of the City University of New York (free CUNY!) and a MS in Social Work from Columbia University.

Sasha and I are graduates of the Columbia University School of Social Work, but we graduated one year apart. Not only that, but Sasha and I didn’t meet in person until 2012, while we were attending the Civil Liberties and Public Policy conference that year. New York is a big city, but we reproductive justice activists always seem to find each other. Learning more about what Sasha has done and is currently doing for women and communities of color leaves me in complete awe. Sasha is the epitome of what a community organizer is, and, most importantly, she is a great example of what social work is. You can keep up with Sasha’s work and interests on Twitter.

Read more about Sasha, her experiences as a woman of color and as a community organizer, how she encourages young women and communities of color to raise their voices, and how she takes care of herself. 

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(Image from Teens in New York City Protection+ app, by of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene)

Since the New York City Human Resources Administration launched its “Think Being a Teen Parent Won’t Cost You?” campaign aimed at lowering the city’s teen pregnancy rates a month ago, the campaign (and its ads that are now featured at city bus stops and inside the subways) has been under fire locally and nationally. I’ve been one of those vocal opponents of the messaging of this campaign, and together with the New York Coalition for Reproductive Justice, the No Stigma! No Shame! Campaign began in response to the HRA.

This week, I happened to notice a local news report on a new phone app developed by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, aimed to not only reduce the numbers of teen pregnancy in the city (which has dropped to around 30% within the past decade) but to also show teens where to go for information on birth control, condoms, and testing.

Piquing my interest, I downloaded the app to test it out. I also signed up for the HRA’s texting game by texting “NOTNOW” to 877877 to compare the two. I don’t have to tell you that the outcomes were VERY different. 

Here are my observations:

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From reproductive justice, health and wellness, feminism, race, activism, and everything in between, these are some of the news highlights that happened in March:

Reproductive Justice

If we are serious about reproductive justice, men cannot be left out of the reproductive health equation. 

Kierra Johnson and Jessica Gonzales-Rojas share how they have moved beyond “choice” and have embraced reproductive justice. 

Law Students for Reproductive Justice announces its 2013-2014 fellows. 

A United Nations report classifies lack of abortion access a torture for women and girls. 

Policy

Following on the heels of the United States Senate’s vote last month, the House of Representatives voted 286-138 to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, and President Barack Obama signed the act into law. Interestingly, there is more discussion over what the government can and can’t do regarding discrimination. (But why was emergency contraception excluded from VAWA?)

The Hawaii State Senate has voted on a bill that would require hospital emergency room to offer emergency contraception to victims of sexual assault.  

A Texas lawmaker files a bill to eliminate waiting periods for abortion.

Legislators in South Carolina introduce a new personhood bill. And Mississippi’s personhood bill is back. 

Arkansas passes the most extreme abortion ban in the United States, even after the ban was vetoed by Governor Beebe. And North Dakota’s governor signs 3 anti-choice bills, including one for personhood. 

Ms. Magazine takes at look at the United State governmental spending cuts (aka sequestration) and its impact on women. 

What are the worst states to be a woman?

Pregnancy, Abortion, Adoption, & Parenting

The New York City Human Resources Administration launched its “Think Being a Teen Parent Won’t Cost You?” teen pregnancy prevention campaign. The featured ads drew fire nationwide and locally (even after making some revisions), and the New York Coalition for Reproductive Justice is fighting back with the No Stigma! No Shame! campaign. 

CNN entertainment contributor Shanon Cook shares her experience with real fears for her newborn daughter and mental mirages. 

Pregnancy from rape is very common, so why don’t more conservative legislators recognize that?

How can parents raise children who will speak up to prevent rape, and not defend it?

A surrogate mother is offered $10,000 to abort her pregnancy, after a ultrasound revealed serious abnormalities to the fetus. 

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(Image source)

There are many benefits to using social media to engage in activism: there’s no cost, it’s readily accessible to many, it’s instant, and you can get the word out about what’s happening in your community.

But what about those moments when you see something on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or other networks you participate in, and you immediate react, and not in a good way? You can feel your body begin to tense up, your breathing becomes deeper, a slight headache starts to form, and your fingers start firing off status updates or tweets.

You may believe that you’re at your activist best when this happens. You’re passionate, enraged, and ready to take action. However, while using social media can be fun, educational, and a great way to mobilize others around your cause, it can also lead to feeling overwhelmed and burned out.  

I’ve had multiple conversations with activist friends, spanning a wide array of social justice causes, and they tend to share the same sentiment: They want to make their voices heard to as many people as possible, but it often comes at the price of taking the time out for self care. They feel overwhelmed because they feel pressure (directly or indirectly) to have something to say in order to show their knowledge and leadership. They feel the pressure to always be on. They also feel guilt when they want to take a break from social media, especially when something crucial is happening in their movement. 

Is the use of social media affecting your ability to be not only effective in your activism, but also to be mindful of your self care? Here are 4 ways to make sure you’re still socially engaged but also keeping activist burnout at bay.

You might be thinking, “Well, I know this stuff already.”

That’s good. But are you doing it?:

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I recently received the following question from a young woman who is currently studying social work at an undergraduate university:

Hello! I just found your website, and I am blown away; you’re living my dream life! I’m currently one year away from graduating with my [Bachelors degree in Social Work], and am looking at different options for where to go next. Thinking about the future is scary! 

Before flipping through your site, I had never heard the term “reproductive justice field”, but that’s what I want to work in, in a nutshell. But, “reproductive justice” isn’t on the list of social problems that we generally acknowledge in class, and sometimes I feel like I can’t pursue this topic that excites me so much with my social work degree. 

So my question is, where do I go from here? I’ve been looking at different grad school programs, and there are so many different options! Do you think that a concentration in public policy would be more helpful than a general practice degree? Do you have any tips for actually finding employment in the “reproductive justice field”? I’ve interned with [pro choice organizations] and am looking into starting a pro choice group on my campus next year; but I’m looking for a sign that any of this can work beyond college. 

Any suggestions would be appreciated! Oh, and thanks for being awesome!

Since March is National Social Work Month, I was really excited to receive this question. A degree in social work is one of the most diverse degrees one can obtain. There are many people in various social justice movements and in many career fields that are social workers. As a social worker, you use your skills of engagement to analyze, discover, and develop strategies to work with individuals, agencies, and communities in ways that are holistic and empowering.

Generally, most people are surprised to find out that I’m a social worker. When I’m asked, “What do you do?”, it’s the first thing that I mention. They’re even more surprised at the career I’ve developed and the experiences I’ve had throughout the years. Though I’ve been in the reproductive justice (RJ) field much longer compared to social work, the skills and theories I learned as a social worker student serve to enhance my work in RJ. 

I’ve broken down the question above into four separate questions to tackle:

1) Which social work practice method would be best for a career in reproductive justice work? 

2) Are there any social work programs that focus on reproductive justice?

3) Are there any tips for finding employment in the reproductive justice field?

4) Is any of this even possible after college?

So, is it possible to have a career as a reproductive justice social worker?

The short answer: Absolutely!

Here’s the long answer:

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