Last week was National Women’s Health Week. It seems like an appropriate time to talk about the very real health needs that exist in the Washington metropolitan area and the wonderful work our Grantee Partners do to address them. Also, at the end of this blog I’ve included a link to a new resource that you can use to advocate on behalf of women’s health.
Despite the presence of some of the nation’s best hospitals, our region still lags behind the rest of the United States in several critical areas of women’s health. For example, women in Washington, D.C. have the worst life expectancy of any state in the U.S. – and Maryland (ranked 40 out of 51) and Virginia (ranked 31 out of 51) don’t fare much better.
D.C. also has the worst AIDS rate for women, and again Maryland (ranked 50 out of 51) and Virginia (ranked 32 out of 51) are also at the bottom of the list.
The District also has one of the highest rates of people living in a medically underserved area; Maryland has one of the worst maternal mortality rates in the country; and Virginia has one of the highest rates of bad blood pressure.
Here are just a few examples of our Grantee Partner’s projects that address a wide range of health issues for women and girls:
Children’s National Medical Center: Girls Teen Life Clubs
Teen Life Clubs is Children’s year-long health education, empowerment program for 11-14 year old adolescents, who live in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Separate clubs exist for girls and boys.
Friends of Guest House
Friends of Guest House was founded to provide a temporary house for women charged with or convicted of a criminal offense who are in the need of basic human services to facilitate their new start in life and adjustments to the community at large. These services include individual & group counseling and medical services.
Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Care
Established in 1988 with funding from the District of Columbia Mayor’s Office on Latino Affairs(OLA) and the Department of Health (DOH), Mary’s Center addressed the demand for bilingual services to pregnant women and their infants in predominantly Latino areas of Ward One. Today, it serves multicultural populations throughout the metro Washington, D.C. region, serving individuals and families who have limited or no access to health-related services.
Women Empowered Against Violence
WEAVE works closely with adult and teen survivors of relationship violence and abuse, providing an innovative range of legal, counseling, economic and educational services that leads survivors to utilize their inner and community resources, achieve safety for themselves and their children and live empowered lives.
And, of course, all of our Leadership Award-Winning Grantee Partners this year focus on health and safety as well.
Ascensions Community Services
A Wider Circle
DC Abortion Fund
Divine Images Network
Fair Fund
Nueva Vida
Pregnancy Aid Centers
The Women’s Collective
If you would like to get more involved in advocating on behalf of women’s health, the National Women’s Law Center has just launched Reform Matters: Making Real Progress for Women and Health Care. This is a new project aimed at encouraging women to be active and vocal advocates in the fight for progressive health care reform and giving them the tools to do so
