Mujeres Unidas Y Activas

MUJERES UNIDAS Y ACTIVAS(MUA) IS A GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATION OF LATINA IMMIGRANT WOMEN WITH A DOUBLE MISSION OF PROMOTING PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION AND BUILDING COMMUNITY POWER FOR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE.

MUJERES UNIDAS Y ACTIVASIN 2021, AT LEAST 1060 IMMIGRANT WOMEN PARTICIPATED IN ONE OR MORE OF MUA SUPPORT SERVICES AND TRAINING PROGRAMS, SUCH AS ONLINE SUPPORT GROUPS, LIFE COACHING, NUTRITION COURSES, PARENTING COURSES, ESL CLASSES, ZUMBA FITNESS, VOCATIONAL CLASSES, MEMBER ORIENTATIONS, AND LABOR RIGHTS TRAININGS. AT LEAST 850 OF THESE ARE ACTIVE IN AN ONGOING WAY IN MUA, AND ARE CONSIDERED MEMBERS. THIS NUMBER DOES NOT COUNT PARTICIPATION AT OUR TWICE WEEKLY FACEBOOK LIVE INFORMATIONAL WORKSHOPS, WHICH WE ESTIMATED TO BE AT LEAST 1560 SPANISH-SPEAKING BAY AREA RESIDENTS. THESE WORKSHOPS ADDRESSED HEALTH AND WELLNESS AND ALSO PROVIDED CONTEXT AND ANALYSIS ON CURRENT AFFAIRS AND SOCIAL ISSUES SUCH AS LGBTQ RIGHTS, BLACK LIVES MATTER AND ANTI-ASIAN HATE. MUA ALSO DISTRIBUTED OVER $320,000 IN COMMUNITY ECONOMIC RELIEF.ADDITIONALLY, MUA RAN TWICE MONTHLY SUPPORT GROUPS IN MAYA MAM FOCUSED ON MANY OF THESE SAME TOPICS. WE OFTEN BROUGHT IN GUEST SPEAKERS ON KEY ISSUES, AND PAID TWO BILINGUAL MEMBER-LEADERS AS INTERPRETERS FROM SPANISH TO MAM. THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, MUA OFFERED PEER COUNSELING AND SERVICES NAVIGATION BY PHONE IN SPANISH AND MAM FIVE DAYS PER WEEK, 10:00 AM TO 2:00 PM. FAMILY TENSIONS, MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE WERE CONTINUING CHALLENGES DURING THIS PERIOD. AT LEAST 930 COMMUNITY MEMBERS RECEIVED PHONE COUNSELING IN 2021, WITH HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE RECEIVING THREE OR MORE PHONE SESSIONS. VOCATIONAL ENGLISH CONTINUED IN 5 WEEK MODULES. A TOTAL OF 52 WOMEN COMPLETED AT LEAST ONE 5 WEEK MODULE IN 2021. WE ALSO OFFERED MONTHLY VOCATIONAL TRAINING WORKSHOPS ON SPECIFIC TOPICS RELATED TO DOMESTIC WORK, INCLUDING ELDER CARE AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT.OUR SUPPORT GROUP FOR MOTHERS, GRANDMOTHERS AND CAREGIVERS MET MONTHLY FROM APRIL DECEMBER, WITH A RANGE OF 18 45 PARTICIPANTS PER SESSION. TOPICS INCLUDED: LEARNING THROUGH PLAY, UNDERSTANDING CHALLENGING BEHAVIORS, HOW FAMILY VIOLENCE IMPACTS CHILDREN, AND DISCIPLINING THROUGH LOVE.FROM MARCH TO NOVEMBER 2021, MUA PARTICIPATED IN THE STATEWIDE TOGETHER TOWARDS HEALTH INITIATIVE AS AN ALAMEDA COUNTY PARTNER, HELPING SPANISH AND MAM SPEAKING IMMIGRANTS TO ACCESS TRUSTED INFORMATION ABOUT COVID19 PREVENTION AND VACCINATION. WE OFFERED THIS INFORMATION THROUGH OUR REGULAR FACEBOOK LIVE WORKSHOPS AND IN OUR SPANISH AND MAM SPEAKING SUPPORT GROUPS. STARTING IN AUGUST 2021 WE CONDUCTED OUR FIRST EVER ONLINE LEADERSHIP FOR COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT COURSE, OUR CORE LEADERSHIP TRAINING FOR MEMBERS. THE COURSE WAS CONDUCTED OVER 13 WEEKS, WITH 36 ENTHUSIASTIC PARTICIPANTS. TOPICS INCLUDED: COMMUNITY ORGANIZING, POLICY ADVOCACY, COLLECTIVE LEADERSHIP, SPOKESWOMAN TRAINING, MEETING PLANNING AND FACILITATION. IN ADDITION, WE INTEGRATED MULTIPLE MODULES FROM WE MAKE HISTORY, THE NEW LEADERSHIP CURRICULUM CREATED BY THE NATIONAL DOMESTIC WORKERS ALLIANCE AND PILOTED BY MUA. TWO OF OUR MEMBER LEADERS WERE PROVIDED TRAINING AND STIPENDS TO FACILITATE THESE SESSIONS AS PART OF THEIR LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT. IN 2021, WE ENTERED THE ANALYSIS STAGE OF THE TWO ONGOING PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH STUDIES OF THE IMPACT OF MUAS LEADERSHIP MODEL CO-LED BY RESEARCHERS FROM UCSF AND USF. ONE STUDY, FUNDED BY THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION, IS A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY OF OUR BASE-BUILDING AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT METHODOLOGIES, AND THE OTHER STUDY, FUNDED BY THE BLUE SHIELD OF CALIFORNIA FOUNDATION, IS AN IMPACT EVALUATION OF WHETHER OUR LEADERSHIP MODEL BREAKS THE CYCLE OF FAMILY VIOLENCE. BOTH FUNDERS HAVE EXTENDED THE PROJECTS THROUGH 2022 IN ORDER TO GIVE US TIME TO PRODUCE BILINGUAL COMMUNITY REPORTS AND VIDEOS TO SHARE OUT THE RESULTS OF THE WORK. WE ALSO WILL BE PREPARING ARTICLES TO SUBMIT TO PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS.CIVIC ENGAGEMENT CAMPAIGNSASYLUM SEEKERS -- #WELCOMEWITHDIGNITY: IN NOVEMBER 2021, MUA AND CENTER FOR GENDER AND REFUGEE STUDIES OFFICIALLY JOINED #WELCOMEWITHDIGNITY, A NATIONAL, MULTISECTOR CAMPAIGN TO IMPROVE CONDITIONS FOR ASYLUM SEEKERS. WE CREATED AND LAUNCHED A VIDEO FOCUSING ON THE STORY OF A MUA MEMBER WHO WON HER ASYLUM CASE AND IS NOW A LEADER IN EFFORTS TO CHANGE ASYLUM POLICY.IMMIGRATION REFORM -- #WEAREHOME: IN RECOGNITION THAT THE POLITICAL CONDITIONS WERE NOT IN PLACE IN 2021 FOR A COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM, MUA PARTICIPATED IN NATIONAL ADVOCACY EFFORTS TO INCLUDE A PATHWAY TO CITIZENSHIP FOR ESSENTIAL WORKERS IN CONGRESSIONAL BILLS RELATED TO COVID19, SERVICES, AND INFRASTRUCTURE. THE MOST RECENT OF THESE EFFORTS WAS A MONTHS-LONG ADVOCACY CAMPAIGN RELATED TO THE BUILD BACK BETTER BILL, UNDER A NEW UMBRELLA CAMPAIGN CALLED #WEAREHOME (ESTAMOS EN CASA). MUA MEMBERS PARTICIPATED IN MULTIPLE CALL-IN DAYS TO MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO URGE THEM TO ENSURE THAT IMMIGRANT ESSENTIAL WORKERS, DACA RECIPIENTS AND TPS (TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS) HOLDERS WOULD BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT. .DOMESTIC WORKER EDUCATION AND OUTREACH PROGRAM: IN 2021 MUA MANAGED ITS FIRST MAJOR STATEWIDE GRANT ($1.1 MILLION PER YEAR OVER 3 YEARS). THE GRANT FROM THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND IS SUPPORTING DOMESTIC WORKER AND EMPLOYER EDUCATION AND OUTREACH STATEWIDE, WITH A PORTION FOR MUA AND THE REST FOR 7 PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS STATEWIDE IN THE CALIFORNIA DOMESTIC WORKER COALITION. AS PART OF THIS NEW PROGRAM, MUA CREATED A SERIES OF ONLINE CAFECITOS (COFFEE CHATS) FOR DOMESTIC WORKERS ABOUT THEIR RIGHTS, ADVERTISED THROUGH PAID PROMOTIONS ON FACEBOOK. THESE MEETINGS ALSO FUNCTIONED AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO RECRUIT NEW MEMBERS. IN 2021 THERE WERE 28 OF THESE ONLINE WORKSHOPS WITH AN AVERAGE OF 24 PARTICIPANTS PER WORKSHOP (OVER 630 PARTICIPANTS TOTAL), MOST OF WHOM WERE NEW TO MUA.DOMESTIC WORKER HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT: ON SEPTEMBER 29, 2021, GOVERNOR NEWSOM SIGNED SB321 INTO LAW, THE CULMINATION OF A HARD-FOUGHT TWO-YEAR CAMPAIGN. THE BILL WAS CREATED AND CHAMPIONED BY MUA AND ITS ALLIES IN COLLABORATION WITH OTHER DOMESTIC WORKER ORGANIZATIONS. THE APPROVED BILL, WHICH WAS AMENDED TO WIN THE GOVERNORS SUPPORT, WILL CREATE THE FIRST EVER STATEWIDE HEALTH AND SAFETY GUIDELINES FOR DOMESTIC WORKERS. THE GUIDELINES WILL BE DEVELOPED BY A COMMISSION WHICH BY STATUTE WILL INCLUDE REPRESENTATIVES OF STATE AGENCIES, DOMESTIC WORKERS, AND EMPLOYERS. DOMESTIC WORKER SICK LEAVE ORDINANCE IN SAN FRANCISCO: IN JULY 2021, IN COORDINATION WITH THE CALIFORNIA DOMESTIC WORKERS COALITION AND THE NATIONAL DOMESTIC WORKERS ALLIANCE, WE LAUNCHED A CAMPAIGN TO PASS A MUNICIPAL ORDINANCE IN SAN FRANCISCO THAT WOULD, IN EFFECT, CREATE THE FIRST EVER MECHANISM IN CALIFORNIA FOR THE ENFORCEMENT OF PAID SICK LEAVE FOR DOMESTIC WORKERS. IN DECEMBER, THE ORDINANCE WAS PASSED UNANIMOUSLY BY THE SF BOARD OF SUPERVISORS. EMPLOYERS OF DOMESTIC WORKERS WILL BE REQUIRED TO PAY INTO A CENTRALIZED FUND RUN BY THE CITY, AND HELD UNDER THE NAME OF THE WORKER. THE WORKER CAN THEN WITHDRAW THE FUNDS FOR PAID-TIME OFF ON AN AS-NEEDED BASIS, FOR EXAMPLE WHEN SHE IS ILL, OR WHEN ONE OF HER CHILDREN NEEDS TO GO TO THE DOCTOR.