Black Women's Blueprint, Inc.

SISTAS VAN: A MOBILE HEALING CLINIC

A Community Emergent Strategy Meeting Survivors Where They Are

WHAT IS SISTAS VAN?

Sistas Van is a fully wheelchair accessible Mobile Healing Unit designed with the vision of survivors of sexual violence, trafficking, reproductive violence, and physical abuse - many of whom described avoiding contact with the medical system except in extreme circumstances, due to multiple fears, including re-traumatization and stigma. Sistas Van is a trauma-informed, survivor-centered sexual assault prevention mechanism implemented by Black Women’s Blueprint. Our mobile healing unit is an all-gender affirming space that centers the experiences and needs of Black women and femmes to close the gap and fill the need for support services across the spectrum of sexual and reproductive health. Survivors provide vision from multiple populations and vantage points such as visible and invisible disabilities, pregnancy, sex work occupation, survivors and youth.

SISTAS VAN SERVICES INCLUDE:

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH COUNSELING/SERVICES: Doula Services, contraception/emergency contraception, and pregnancy testing for sexual violence survivors including victims of human trafficking and also for sex workers who choose it.

SEXUAL ASSAULT PREVENTION EDUCATION: Bystander Intervention for youth and young women, community accountability teach-ins on the streets, self-defense clinics, and education to prevent sexual violence

TRAUMA-INFORMED CRISIS INTERVENTION: Confidential hotline services by trained professionals, one-on-one support, and referrals to additional support.

HEALING AND COUNSELING SERVICES: Offering survivor-centered counseling for those who have experienced sexual violence, trafficking, reproductive violence, and physical abuse.

SOLIDARITY ECONOMY: Barter networks, food-banks, clothing swaps, meal and self-care kits

YOUTH DROP-IN SERVICES: Offering free wi-fi, multilingual resources, one-on-one support for survivors at the margins, and culturally-specific communities to build community leaders

LEADERSHIP AND POLITICAL EDUCATION: Outreach and community support on issues of violence against women, partnership with community based organizations (CBOs),  mobile trainings through the Institute for Gender and Culture (IGC) on college campuses and other public spaces to build community leadership, political education and voting rights
 

SISTAS VAN PHILOSOPHY & RADICAL CARE STATEMENT  

In response to the narratives and recommendations made by community survivors and their loved-ones at the Black Women’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Black Women’s Blueprint is committed to providing a unique and distinct entry point to liberatory services for every survivor who engages with Sistas Van staff and support system.

Our radical care and healing philosophy is:


Sistas Van is a safe passageway that promotes sexual rights, sexual health, bodily autonomy, and reproductive dignity.

Sistas Van is designed, and uniquely positioned within communities to meet women, girls, gender fluid and gender non-conforming people and survivors where they are at.

Holistic care is confidential, safe, accessible, and trauma-informed.

Sistas Van addresses the gaps in care and services which demand that community comes to an institution, rather than we go to community

We offer a positive integrated approach to the relentless sexual, reproductive and mental health concerns and issues women face across identities.

We provide wrap-around services and connections to partner services. 

We foreground each survivor’s right to access services and support in their community, and to deploy their capacity for leadership.
 
EVERY DOLLAR COUNTS!  WE ARE RAISING MONEY FOR...

We are requesting donations to purchase essential supplies and materials that will be used to service communities of survivors in need. With your donation we can purchase and develop the following for Sistas Van:

-10,000 fortifying care kits​ (mirrors, male/female condoms, contraceptives, pregnancy tests, hygiene items, blood pressure readers, sanitary products,)
-12,000 Abundant healthy meal kits
-8,000 Food Vouchers
-5,000 Metrocards
-Enhance the accessibility into Sistas Van by adding an additional railing
-Purchase of furnishings, curtains, monitors, assessment gear, cushioning, plastic protection, sterilized exam items and lighting
-A Security and Camera System
-Mini Fridge and Sterile Sink Installation
-Mobile Healing Clinic Hotline Service
-5,000 Healing First Aid Kits (sage, palo santo, crystals, camphor, essential oils,etc.)
-500 Audio/Visual Toolkits on Sexual and Reproductive Access and Education
-500 Media Toolkits with Sexual and Reproductive Health Information, Prevention Education, and Crisis Intervention Resources
-1000 Case management, referrals, and other care coordination information pamphlets  
-A paid staffing model to provide consistent care
-Creation of the Sistas Van mobile app with service listings and location tracking.

Gamma Phi Beta chapters at Minnesota State University Mankato and Miami University are teaming up to raise money to benefit Black Women's Blueprint, Inc. We chose this organization because its mission is very similar to our philanthropy Building Strong Girls. In addition to this gofundme, we have also created a t-shirt to raise awareness for Black Lives Matter and 100% of the profits will go to the Black Women's Blueprint (which is about 17% of the price). The link for the T-shirt is attached below.

The Black Women's Blueprint began in 2008 and is a national organization using civil and human rights approaches to organize and develop a culture where women of African descent are fully empowered and where gender, race, and other disparities are erased. They engage in progressive research, historical documentation, policy advocacy, and organize on social justice issues steeped in the struggles of Black women within their communities and within dominant culture. They provide health and counseling services and corporate public trainings to create a just world.

Black Women’s Blueprint's main focus was the 2008 Democratic Primaries. While the group developed their personal, critical consciousness, parallel to this process was the political and public debate around the Obama/Clinton primary elections where Black women were being asked whether they were voting for race or for gender. Both democratic candidates presented their “blueprints” for change but neither took full stock of the particular problems Black women are facing within their communities and in greater society (gender-violence, poverty, the over-criminalization of black women and girls among others). What was manifesting itself was the cultural tendency to erase Black women by conceptualizing white women as speaking on behalf of the rights of the sex and Black men as speaking on behalf of the race. Black women needed to offer their own voice, their own “blueprint” for change that equally reflected and benefited them, thus Black Women’s Blueprint was formed. Find more information on their website: https://www.blackwomensblueprint.org/

Here is the link to purchase the t-shirt: https://geneologie.com/collections/black-lives-matter-fundraiser/products/gamma-phi-beta-blm-shirt-30-00


While you are on this page, Gamma Phi has put together a list of resources to further educate yourself on the racial injustice in our country. Included are places to donate, petitions to sign, movies and TV shows to watch, books to read, podcasts to listen to, Instagram accounts to follow, and other articles online. 
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zQ0VN6c5arjX8HWf11NuvOqK6xwEyx9TZTqT3dzXUXY/edit?usp=sharing

Any size donation will make a difference. Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause.

-Gamma Phi Beta MNSU & MU

The Women Law students' Association at Uconn Law is raising money to benefit Black Women's Blueprint, Inc., and any donation will help make an impact. Our fundraising goal is in memory of Breonna Taylor, and represents the day she was born. We, the Women Law Students’ Association, stand with our Black members, our UConn Law faculty and peers, and our fellow organizations. We are deeply outraged by the the hateful acts of discrimination and violence committed against the Black community; and we denounce such atrocities. As an organization that stands for inclusion and strives to achieve equality, we will continually support and amplify the voices of the Black community and Black women. 

More information about Black Women's Blueprint, Inc.: Black Women's Blueprint is a national organization using civil and human rights approaches to organize and develop a culture where women of African descent are fully empowered and where gender, race and other disparities are erased. We engage in progressive research, historical documentation, policy advocacy and organize on social justice issues steeped in the struggles of Black women within their communities and within dominant culture.

The mission of Black Women's Blueprint is to empower women and girls of African decent and aid black women facing gender violence, poverty, and over-criminalization. The money that the non-profit raises helps to make a difference "in the life of a sexual assault or sexual abuse survivor, or in the life of any young woman of color living at the intersections of identity, oppression and experience." Read more about their mission through their website https://www.blackwomensblueprint.org/mission-history.