US Senate Healthcare Roundtable

On January 29 we posted that North Carolina Women United,
a state-wide advocacy group, held meetings to discuss what issues North Carolina women are most concerned about.

The number one issue for women in 2008 was healthcare. It seems to be on everyone's mind.

Well, the senate, too, is discussing this very important issue. I watched much of the 3 hour discussion today and it was very informative. Go to www.CSPAN.org to view the panel discussion in its entirety.

Posted by Kate Tinnan, WRC Volunteer

WRC recognizes National Volunteer Week

During National Volunteer Week April 19^th-25^th, "Celebrating People in Action", we are reminded of the vital role volunteers play in the daily life of the Women's Resource Center. Serving women struggling with a wide range of difficult life transitions, the center faces new and unique challenges every day. WRC volunteers take an active part in assisting staff by handling reception duties, processing donations, disseminating resource information and promoting our programs and services. Their individual efforts and actions help make extraordinary things possible for those we serve in the greater Hickory metro area. Women's Resource Center recognizes our volunteers for their service to the community and honors them for their determination and dedication.

Posted by Susan Huttman, WRC Outreach Coordinator

Kate Michelman in The Nation

I was listening to NPR today and heard an interview with Kate Michelman about an article she wrote for The Nation this month. Its the gut wrenching story of her personal experience with family illness - her husband and daughter - at a time in her life when she should be enjoying the fruits of a long life having worked hard, paid her taxes and saved for her retirement. Instead she faces complete financial loss. Here is an excerpt:

"Our story also illustrates the unique challenges women face in the healthcare system, as in the economy at large. Women are paid less and given benefits less frequently--yet they are the ones on whom the responsibility of caretaking disproportionately falls. In addition, women disproportionately, but hardly exclusively, understand the perverse economic choices the healthcare system imposes. In my case, I had to quit working to care for my husband, only to arrive at a point at which he needs care I can afford only if I can find a job. The bills, meanwhile, are often inexplicable, sometimes contain mistakes and are always impossible to resolve without encountering a thicket of red tape. " Click here to read the full article...

I posted an entry on March 12 on a panel discussion hosted by Legal Momentum about the subject of women and families and how our country's financial situation is disproportionately affecting them. Ms. Michelman's article really brings those issues home to all of us in a most personal way. As in Ms. Michelman's family, more and more families are becoming dependent on women's income, but that income and any benefits it may bring with it rarely cover the day to day living expenses of their families.

I relate to her situation on a personal level. I, too, have experienced the life changing effects of serious illness. My husband had an aneurysm rupture 10 years ago. He survived and recovered better than anyone could have dreamed. But it changed our lives forever, in so many ways, financially being one of them. I know some of the stress Ms. Michelman is experiencing and the bewilderment at a government and society that sees this happening to so many hard working citizens, and seems to be at a loss to do anything about it.

Health insurance is NOT healthcare. If there is anything that we can glean from Ms. Michelman's article, it is that. I don't know if the solution is universal healthcare but it is obviously not a system of health insurance that pays for only a fraction of what healthcare costs.

I know, as does Ms. Michelman, that what is happening to her is happening to many people across America. I hope those of you that read this and read her article in The Nation will share your stories with us. The web letters following her article are also worthy of attention. Several healthcare providers share their experiences and conclusions.

Together I believe we can exert enough pressure on our legislators and our President to really tackle this problem so that no one has to face financial ruin later in life because of one health crisis - at that rate, each of us is just one crisis away from devastating loss.

Posted by Kate Tinnan, WRC Volunteer

What Defines Poverty?

National Sexual Assault Awareness Month

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
April 8, 2009

NATIONAL SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH, 2009
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

PROCLAMATION

Sexual assault scars the lives of millions in the United States. To increase awareness about this issue, prevent future crimes, and aid victims, this month we mark National Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Sexual assault is pervasive in the United States. Study after study has shown that this crime impacts people at all age levels and in every part of this Nation. One recent study found that 18 percent of women in this country have been raped in their lifetime. In addition, rates of sexual assault remain startlingly high for students from high school to college. A 2005 survey of high school students found that 10.8 percent of girls and 4.2 percent of boys from grades nine to twelve were forced to have sexual intercourse at some time in their lives. A study of college women found that 13.7 percent of undergraduate women had been victims of at least one completed sexual assault since entering college. Unlike victims of sexual assault in the larger community, students victimized by other students often face additional challenges in a "closed" campus environment. For example, a victim may continue to live in danger if the perpetrator resides in the same dormitory or attends the same classes. These statistics are all the more alarming given that, according to recent research, a majority of victims do not report their attacks to police.

Victims of all ages suffer from both the physical and emotional consequences of the attack. Sexual assault can lead to long-term health problems including chronic pain, stomach problems, and sexually transmitted diseases. It can also cause severe emotional harm that may be even more painful than the assault itself and resulting physical injuries. The effects of sexual assault go well beyond the direct victim: sexual assault also has a profound impact on a victim's family, friends, neighbors, and workplace.

Victims need an array of services to heal from the trauma of sexual assault, including crisis intervention, 24-hour sexual assault hotlines, medical and criminal justice accompaniment, advocacy, and counseling. Victim service providers are essential to this effort and work tirelessly to help victims cope with the trauma of sexual assault and transition from "victim" to "survivor."

Landmark legislation has helped fund these critical services. The Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (VOCA, Public Law 98-473) established the Crime Victims Fund to fund services such as forensic sexual assault examinations and compensation claims for both adult and child victims. For example, since 1997, VOCA funding has supported the development of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs and multi-disciplinary Sexual Assault Response Teams (SART). The Violence Against Women Act of 2005 (VAWA, Public Law 109-162) authorized the Sexual Assault Services Program, the first Federal funding dedicated exclusively to sexual assault services. The Program includes funding for culturally specific programs that serve victims who face unique cultural and linguistic barriers.

In addition to helping victims, offenders must be held accountable for their crimes. Sexual assault forensic examinations and trained examiners can ensure that victims are treated with requisite sensitivity and that critical evidence is collected to facilitate a successful prosecution. To this end, VAWA mandates that all States that accept Federal grants to combat violence against women ensure that sexual assault victims receive forensic examinations free of charge, even if the victim chooses not to report the crime to the police.

To make continued progress, my Administration supports efforts to help Americans better understand this issue. Working together, we can reduce the incidence of sexual assault and help all who have experienced this heinous crime.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 2009, as National Sexual Assault Awareness Month. I urge all Americans to respond to sexual assault by creating policies at work and school, by engaging in discussions with family and friends, and by making the prevention of sexual assault a priority in their communities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

BARACK OBAMA

Posted by Kate Tinnan, WRC volunteer

Weekend Attendees have Freedom to Choose

At the end of the 2009 WRC Enrichment Weekend, everyone sat around in a circle together and had an opportunity to share their thoughts and impressions. During breakfast each attendee was asked to write down one word that summed up their experience over the weekend. Sue Murray wrote down Freedom. She elaborated her point with this beautiful poem; which she kindly read aloud at the closing and generously also let us post here.

*Freedom to Choose*

Freedom to choose---
The ropes course or hiking
Canoeing or kayaking
Guided meditation or short story discussion
To create a vision collage or lantern
To explore our relationship to the moon
To dance, sing, share a talent or gift
To speak up or to be silent
To reign yourself in or let loose
To be serious or silly or both or something else
Freedom to do as much or as little as you choose, if only you will give yourself permission
And that is the only permission you need!
Can you give yourself permission to do and be exactly who you are in each moment?
Can you give others permission to do and be exactly who they are in each moment?
Freedom to choose---
To say YES or NO to whatever, to whomever...
Both are equally important words and knowing *you* *can choose.*

Published with permission from Poet Sue Murray, one of the contributing writers featured in WRC's new book: Voices and Vision.

Posted by WRC

Terri Bennett's Prescription for Making our World Cleaner and Safer

Terri Bennett, a nationally recognized earth scientist, is the keynote speaker for the Women's Resource Center 2009 Gala on May 7. Here is a recent article she published on her blog that provides practical advice for those of us interested in keeping it clean without harming the environment with toxic chemicals.

Cleaning with Less Waste

Most of us have that under the sink cabinet or pantry closet overflowing with cleaners of all varieties. We think we need all of these cleaners to cut through grease and grime and provide a cleaner, less germy environment for our families. I certainly fall into this category...or at least I used to. That's before I discovered vinegar and baking soda. Now my cleaning cabinet has a 2 gallon jug of vinegar, a couple of spray bottles that I recycled from other commercial cleaners and several boxes of baking soda.

There are many benefits to cleaning with fewer chemical cleaners. Of course there is the obvious health benefit. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the air inside our homes is on average two to five times more polluted than the air outside, largely due to household cleaners. The EPA has also found that toxic chemicals in household cleaners are three times more likely to cause cancer than other air pollutants. And it's not just the air that we are polluting with these chemical cleaners. The Clean Water Fund estimates that the average American uses 40 pounds of toxic cleaners every year and much of that finds it way into the water supply where we spend billions of dollars trying to remove the toxins from our drinking water.

But there is another benefit, you'll also be creating less waste when you clean with fewer chemicals. In 2006, the United States generated about 14 million TONS of plastic waste. A large portion of that is from plastic containers and packaging including all of those cleaners in plastic bottles. It's estimated that on average we each generate 190 pounds of plastic trash every year and the recycling rate for plastics are around 20 percent, at best.

When you choose to clean with fewer chemical products, you create a healthier environment in your home or business. You will also buy fewer products, so naturally you'll create less waste. One two gallon jug of vinegar mixed with two gallons of water can fill one spray bottle about eight times! And a two gallon jug of vinegar costs about 2 bucks. That's what I call a savings! I'm also keeping harmful chemicals out of my house and creating less plastic waste by buying one jug instead of eight.

Finally, you're all wondering "But does it really work?" The answer is YES! I now use a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water to clean everything except marble. It's great on glass, countertops and undiluted vinegar cuts grease too (just let the vinegar sit for a few minutes). Vinegar also naturally kills germs, bacteria and mold so you don't have to worry that you're not really cleaning. Baking soda works great anyplace you need an abrasive to remove dirt (do not use it on stainless steel) or to remove odors in shoes, carpets, even pets and pet beds! You can find many more uses for vinegar and baking soda by checking out the Do Your Part section of our website.

So finish up those plastic bottles of chemical cleaners, rinse them out, and reuse them when you can for a natural solution of vinegar or vinegar and water (I keep a spray bottle of each under the sink). And remember to recycle those plastic containers when you can. The energy saved making one plastic bottle from recycled content rather than virgin materials can power a 60-watt light bulb for six hours!

Published with permission from Terri Bennett.

Posted by Kate Tinnan, WRC volunteer