Did you know that more than half of the counties in northern California have no abortion providers? Women from all over the state have to travel to the San Francisco Bay Area in order to obtain an abortion, especially if they need to use Medi-Cal to pay for it. The ACCESS Practical Support Network is a group of nearly 100 women and men who provide rides, overnight housing, food, child care, translation and other concrete support to help women get to their abortion appointments without isolation or delay. YOU CAN HELP. If you ever needed someone's help to make your own choices possible, this is a great way to give back.

Practical Support Volunteers need to be warm, nonjudgmental, patient, comfortable with abortion, and committed to supporting each woman in making the choices that are right for her. ACCESS provides extensive screening, training and support to people interested in joining the Network. The commitment is flexible according to your schedule, and is usually no more than 4-10 hours per month.

This opportunity is sponsored by: ACCESS/Women's Health Rights Coalition

We need volunteers who are free at these times

Occasional Weekends Weekdays

This volunteer opportunity is available to the following types of volunteers

Adults (26-54) Young Adults (18-25) Adults (55+)

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

View all agency contacts

Address:

PO Box 3609 Oakland, CA 94609

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

Overall Experience   
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   
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   
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