A Letter from PPMM CEO Stacy CrossDear Friends, While there is still much work to be done to achieve true equity, I can’t help but pause and celebrate how far we have come – and how grateful I am for you. This newsletter is packed with stories about the growth and success you’ve helped make possible this past year. Here’s some of what you’ll read more about inside… Juneteenth, commemorating the emancipation of the last enslaved people in the United States on June 19, 1865, is now a national holiday. The Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, signed by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on June 17, is long overdue. We’re all excited that Pride events, cancelled last year due to COVID-19, are back – at least virtually. Planned Parenthood Mar Monte couldn’t be prouder to support our LGBTQ friends, patients, and employees at regional Pride events – just as proud as we are to deliver the high quality and affordable health services the LGBTQ community deserves.
Our frontline staff are continuing to serve patients who share stories that remind all of us why we’re so committed to keeping our doors open. Finally, in honor of all we’ve been through this year, and all the work we still have to do, our young friend Anouk Yeh agreed to let us share her poem, “Imagining a Conversation with Libertas.” I hope it is as inspirational to you as it is to me. As always, thank you for being a member of the Planned Parenthood Mar Monte family. We wouldn’t be here without you. In This Together, Stacy Cross PPMM President & CEO
Meet Anna* PPMM clinician Janessa’s patient Anna* had driven three hours to our Bakersfield health center from a mountain town where she had no access to the medication abortion care she needed. When Janessa sat down next to her and asked if she had any questions, Anna burst into tears. “She had been completely overwhelmed at home during the pandemic, with a pre-schooler and an older child who has special needs,” Janessa said. “She said she felt like she was drowning.” Janessa reassured her that she could provide the abortion that day. When Anna returned for her second appointment, she was visibly relieved and grateful that PPMM had been there for her. “Having that connection and giving patients that peace, that they’ve come to the right place for help, is so important to me,” Janessa. “It means everything.” Meet Maria* When Maria* drove from her remote town for a medication abortion appointment at our Salinas health center, she thought she was in the early stages of pregnancy. Already a mother, she was shocked to learn after her ultrasound that she was well into her second trimester. She spoke an Indigenous language but was able to firmly communicate that she did not want to continue the pregnancy.
Quickly, Julia, the center manager jumped in with resources for Maria to get to the health center right away. Because Maria spoke a little bit of Spanish, Ruby, a health services specialist who is fluent in Spanish, was able to translate the arrangement, and she gratefully accepted. As soon as she arrived at the health center, Sarah was ready to help her. This compassionate, coordinated effort meant that Maria could have abortion care even when she thought she had nowhere to turn. “She was adamant that she could not have another child,” Sarah said. “But no patient needs to justify their reason for having an *Names have been changed to protect patient identities.
“I wrote ‘Imagining a Conversation with Libertas’ after learning about the construction of the Statue of Liberty in history class. After doing some research on my own, I learned that the year the French began constructing Libertas, the woman on the Statue of Liberty, was also the year nearly every state in the United States passed an abortion ban. “The synchronicity of the two events was so haunting — yet telling — about the American justice system, so I wrote this poem to flesh out the irony of the ‘land of the free’ restricting reproductive care.” – Anouk Yeh 2021 Santa Clara Youth Poet Laureate imagining a conversation with libertas by anouk yeh in 1885, the statue of liberty was gifted to the united states by france crowning the statue was libertas, a roman goddess of freedom the year the french began constructing libertas and i think about the irony, how the birth of our nation’s monument and so i imagine a conversation with libertas and she tells me that throughout history tells me how, throughout history, the most violent thing i ask libertas to explain how the eugenics movement targeted the nation’s black, indigenous tells me about the way their wombs were torched by pen and paper tells me how there is nothing scarier than losing and libertas is crying now libertas tells me how they saw the women’s cracked open hips said but how less than 100 years later tells me, how less than 100 years later, the female body is still nothing violence is the congressional silence that follows a woman’s no violence is politicians forging careers out of policing women’s bodies violence is suits in washington forcing their way into a woman’s womb libertas tells me that, throughout history, this has never been just a i am only seventeen i am only seventeen i’ve seen the way a rapist will get less time i’ve seen the way girls my age cleave over clothes hangers the way life never seems to be a priority so do not tell me that this is a fight for moral preservation so do not tell me that this is a fight for moral preservation but today we are fighting back Anouk, 17
Juneteenth recognized as a national holiday Traditionally, Juneteenth celebrations commemorated the emancipation of the last enslaved people in the United States on June 19, 1865. Two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation, people who were still enslaved in Texas finally learned that they had been liberated, and over 250,000 celebrated.
Juneteenth, also known by some as Emancipation Day or Freedom Day, has become a holiday about celebrating Black culture, history, and life. However, true celebration can’t occur without recognizing the past and current struggles faced by the Black community. Let Juneteenth serve as an invitation to strengthen our personal commitments to Black liberation and celebration and continue to inspire our pursuit of a world reconfigured and repaired. To learn more about how you can fight racism, Talking about patients' needs PPMM’s Director of Gender Affirming Care Dr. Cassy Friedrich addressed the Democratic Women of Washoe County virtual luncheon in June, telling the Nevada group about the cutting edge gender affirming care (GAC) in all 35 of our health centers, explaining what GAC is and why it’s so important. Pride events are back
PPMM was part of a historic moment during the Fresno Pride celebration in June, when our Public Affairs staff played a key role in helping to secure a resolution to raise the Pride rainbow flag at City Hall for the first time ever. Planned Parenthood Mar Monte has also been thrilled to support Pride events throughout our affiliate, including the Virtual Madera Pride Proclamation on June 2, The Take Pride in Emotional and Physical Wellness event on June 17 (hosted by PPMM), and the upcoming Northern Nevada Pride festival and parade on July 24.
“By Violeta Gonzalez (she/her/ella), Digital Learning Manager PPMM is proud to innovate hand-in-hand with the students we serve.
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PPMM’s Education team created ¡Con Confianza!, a gamified sex ed learning platform for Spanish-speaking youth in grades 6-12.
Our Salinas clinician carefully explained that the pregnancy was too advanced to have a medication abortion, and she needed to schedule an in-center abortion. But when Maria called back many days later, she said her car had broken down, she had very little money for transportation, and she couldn’t travel to our Watsonville health center where one of our providers, Sarah, was able to schedule her that day.
Now, more than 150 years later, we are still struggling to confront the racist roots of our country and to continue the work of racial justice. Remembering Juneteenth – with that feeling of triumph, resilience, and joy – has been carried on through generations, but it’s only been in the last few years that the significance of this day has gained a larger audience.
The first Pride Parade, held in New York City in 1970, commemorated the Stonewall Riots on June 28, 1969. Since then Pride has become an event celebrating LGBTQ community members in small and large cities across our nation.
As we surveyed our community partners, parents, and students, it became evident that many Spanish-speaking youth and families also are hungry for unbiased, medically accurate information to help young people make healthy and informed decisions about sex and relationships. ¡Con Confianza! was created to fill that need.
“My sex ed experience was very surface-level, and heterosexual, cisgender-centered — it didn’t touch on LGBTQ issues, and didn’t enable me to feel comfortable to ask questions,” said Y-LED designer, Brenda, age 20. “There wasn’t representation [of me]. And it really inspired me to become part of ¡Con Confianza!. We need to de-stigmatize sex, sexual health, and sexuality.”
