ACCESS/Women's Health Rights Coalition

what people are saying. I cannot tell you how much help The Volunteer Center has been to us. We couldn't do it without you! A heartfelt thanks!

- Deborah Micheele Sanders, The Sapling Project

Agency Details:

ACCESS removes barriers to sexual and reproductive health care and builds the power of California women and girls to demand equity and dignity.

We believe in and trust women--all women.

We envision a future where women decide for themselves whether, when and how to have children. A future where women have access to the resources and options they need to realize their sexual and reproductive health decisions.

We envision a future where women are treated with dignity and respect in those decisions. A future where people understand the context of women's decision-making around pregnancy, and where those decisions are free from stigma.

We envision a future where women's voices are clear and strong; where each woman trusts herself, knows her own power and uses it to demand that all women have the social, political, and economic power and resources to make health decisions for themselves and their families.

Description:
ACCESS approaches our work through our Reproductive Justice in Action model comprised of three components as follows:

HEALTHLINE

The heart of our work is our bilingual Healthline, which connects women and girls throughout California to information, referrals and advocacy on sexual and reproductive health issues. We help women navigate programs that pay for health care and are experts in offering resources for abortion, adoption and parenting. When women are in need of housing, food or transportation to ensure timely access to abortion care, we connect them to a network of volunteers who can provide this support or to funds when volunteer resources are unavailable.

POLICY ADVOCACY
Because we keep women's experiences at the center of our work, we utilize both upstream and downstream approaches within our movement and policy debates. We conduct administrative, legislative, media and grassroots advocacy, relaying the everyday experiences and barriers women and girls face to administrators, policymakers and voters.

COMMUNITY ACTION
We believe that in order to create an authentic reproductive justice movement that truly views women in the context of their lives, we must build community support for women seeking reproductive health care, including abortion. We use women's stories to educate and train the next generation of reproductive justice leaders.

History:
ACCESS is part of a long history of activism for women's health, beginning with the founding in 1974 of its predecessor, the Coalition for the Medical Rights of Women. Past Coalition efforts included landmark work on DES exposure, IUD regulation, workplace safety, and sterilization abuse. The vision for ACCESS, founded in 1993, was not only to provide information and practical support on all aspects of reproductive health, but to build a community actively working to meet the real needs of women.

Contact person: Volunteer Coordinator, (phone), (email)

Main office number: (510) 923-0739
Office fax number: (510) 923-0014

Address:

PO Box 3609
Oakland, CA 94609

Web Site: http://www.whrc-access.org

Miscellaneous Information

Besides English, which languages are spoken at your agency?

Cantonese, Spanish

What is the minimum age for volunteers at your agency?

14

Is your agency wheelchair accessible?

Yes

Does your agency have the capacity to host groups of more than 10?

No

Does your agency have the capacity to host groups of more than 20?

No

Last updated on July 20, 2010

User Reflections

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Average Rating (3 reflections)

Overall Experience Experience rating

Making a real difference in the lives of women

Working with ACCESS has been a great experience for so many different reasons. Most importantly, the work we do is significant in the lives of our clients - we help them access the services they need and help empower them to advocate for themselves. I have also learned so much here about reproductive rights, women's health, and the real obstacles women face in accessing reproductive health care, especially if they don't qualify for Medi-cal. ACCESS is also a supportive environment where volunteers are really encouraged to investigate, explore, and practice.
posted on April 25, 2006

Overall Experience Experience rating

Best experience of my life!

I have been answering calls on the hotline for a little over a year now. I’ve also had the opportunity to give practical support rides to women. Volunteering at ACCESS has been a great learning experience for me. The staff and the volunteers have been compassionate and supportive beyond my expectations. ACCESS is truly unique in helping women who face the most barriers, and volunteers are instrumental to its work. If you are interested in providing women with access to non-judgmental information and resources in order to empower them to make choices about their reproductive health, then ACCESS is the place for you. I plan to be a volunteer at ACCESS for life!!!
posted by pretina20 on April 21, 2006

Overall Experience Experience rating

The young women we are helping are of the highest need, scared, without resources, I am so honored to be able to help.

Access provides any women in need of services with housing, transportation, financial aid or counseling, all without judgement. The group of staff and volunteers are open and generous and commited to women's right to access to abortion and family planning services. My own experiences of providing a place to stay to out of town women getting their abortion at SFGH has ranged from simply providing a bed, to being there in case of complications to acting as an older sister to younger women who arrive scared and alone. At first, I did question why someone would wait so long to decide to get an abortion, but I heard so many valid reasons: they didn't know they were pregnant because they were still getting monthly periods, to they couldn't get their own MediCal card in time for an early abortion, to they simply didn't know where to go, since there weren't any clinics close to home, and by the time they heard about Access, it was already getting late. It made me realize that I didn't know everything, and opened my eyes to the situation of the many young, poor women living in the rural parts of California that simply don't have many choices, nor resources to access for their health care. Not to preach, but if California is one of the better states for women's health care, then we are in sad trouble nationwide. ACCESS has made an important contribution to California, and I am honored to be associated with such a fine group of women.
posted by spikekahn on April 21, 2006