During that time I realized something important and meaningful: Right there on Victor Avenue is where the real feminist revolution is taking place. While women's rights are being daily besieged and diminished by our own American government, the health workers and team members at Women's Health Specialists don't skip a beat. They just keep giving excellent care to women; educating them about their bodies, and through this education giving women a wide range of choices about their own health care, and thus their own lives and destinies.

I am proud to say I worked at Women's Health Specialists, proud to be one of the street soldiers of the feminist revolution that happens there every day. I invite you to listen to the team members of WHS themselves, as they tell you in their own words what Women's Health Specialists on Victor Avenue is all about. Suzy Coffee 

 

 

Charisse Thomas: As a health worker at Women's Health Specialists, I am proud to say we do the real work. We see women just like us, everyday, from every situation. We can relate to them and often find ourselves engaged in personal conversation because we, as women, have gone through similar situations.
Yes, we provide birth control and well-woman exams, but we also provide the absolutely necessary service of abortion. My clients often ask me how can I do this job, referring to my abortion advocacy. I tell them it's empowering to help a woman get through the most difficult time in her life; to be a face of non judgement, of relativity, because I have had an abortion. I know the emotions, and I know that abortion is a right that affects a woman's well being.
I stand with my fellow sisters to keep pushing the line to fight for our rights, every day, for all women, because I am one. I am one here, today, in this world. I am calling all women to come into our doors and become educated to join the fight, and to realize we have a voice, and that we are a force to be reckoned with.

Marie Cardenas: Advocating for women is one of the most important things we do at our health center. This enables us to connect with women on a more personal level. Our focus is to provide our clients with whatever they need, to help them communicate with our nurse practitioners or doctors when they may otherwise feel uncomfortable.
This is where information sharing is so vital. Not only do we offer our personal experiences and the lessons we learn from others, we are also learning from our clients through their experiences. Whether it is about birth control, STIs, or abortion, our goal is to give our clients the information they need to make the choices that are best for them, not what may be best for others who may be trying to influence their decisions.
I have been with Women's Health Specialists for almost eight years. It has been the most fulfilling eight years of my life. I have learned so much about my body and look forward to passing that information on.
Our clients feel comfortable when they come to Women's Health Specialists (also known as Feminist Women's Health Center). We are a woman-owned and operated health center and this is what makes us so unique. We are activists who fight for equality and environmental issues. We are the women who really do care, and our clients see this when they come to our clinic as we build relationships with them.

Linda Krueger: Women feel safe and non-threatened in a clinic setting that is pro-women, non judgmental, and that meets clients' needs. We are a busy, active clinic that sees both women and men. At Women's Health Specialists we see clients who have no ability to pay for services. We go the extra mile to help meet women's needs.

Jackie Leos: How do I advocate for women? With truth, education, information and choice!
A typical day at WHS is very busy, but at the same time, very exciting. Most every one of our clients leaves feeling appreciative of the WHS staff.
I feel empowered, proud and honored to be working with such a great group of women, where it always comes down to: It's Your Body! It's Your Choice!

Jasmine Intharinh: I listen to women's needs, provide what they want and calm women down; basically I comfort the women when I advocate for them. We provide a friendly, sincere service to women for their birth control and well-being.
A typical workday for Women's Health Specialists is very busy. We appreciate all the patience our clients show while waiting for our fantastic services.
Many women feel that we are like a breath of fresh air in this community. We are always here for the women, and they appreciate that.
I am so proud of being with Women's Health Specialists. Being a health worker is so wonderful because I love to be here, and to help with the women's needs.

Joni Holmes: I love this job because I enjoy empowering women. We empower women by offering reproductive choice, self-help remedies and health education. I enjoy talking and connecting with women.

Tiffanie Tzunz: I feel very special and happy to be part of the health center. Our typical workday is definitely busy; we never run out of things to do!

Rowan O'Connell-Barger: Women's Health Specialists is the one place where women can go and know they will receive the most informative, non judgmental, empowering health care, from women who truly care about women. It's a beautiful place to work, and you learn just as much from the women, as they learn from you.

Carie Lunsford: Advocating for women is an intuition thing for me. I pay attention to the woman's situation and help her if she asks, or if I see she needs help; like talking to Medi-Cal for her, or getting the woman a ride or gas money when she cannot provide her own. For me, it's hard not to help someone who needs help, when I have the right knowledge and the tools to do it.
Many services are provided at Women's Health Specialists, like Family PACT insurance, sliding scale pay, tubal ligation consultation and referral, UTI checks, colposcopy clinic and all pregnancy options. Men also come to WHS for STI checks, treatment and condoms.
I feel grateful to be a health worker at Women's Health Specialists. Wow... what a great job. We have access to a large amount of education, and we are taught how to help people. At Women's Health Specialists, we don't turn women away, ever. We stand up for our reproductive freedom. We answer women's questions, give them answers, offer our help.
Katrina Cantrell, Associate Executive Director of WHS: In 1974, when abortion was illegal and women knew little or nothing about their own bodies, nine women got together and started a revolution, see: http://www.womenshealthspecialists.org/.
Conducting self-help and information groups throughout the country, they spread knowledge, empowerment and solidarity. As women began to learn about, take action and fight for their rights over their bodies, the feminist women's health movement was born: a movement by women, for women, dedicated to the simple yet powerful principle of self-determination for women in all aspects of life.
Our first clinic was founded in Chico, CA in 1975. In the ensuing years, we have established clinics in Sacramento, Santa Rosa, and Redding, as well as three satellite clinics.

From Self-Help to Men's Services
From our initial focus on self-help, we have expanded to offer a comprehensive array of respectful, woman-directed reproductive health care and educational services. We provide pregnancy options, prenatal referrals, adoption, medical and surgical abortions, birth control, gynecological exams, STI testing and therapy, breast and Pap exams, the morning-after pill, infection checks and treatment, well-woman care, and alternative treatments including information on home remedies, as well as men's services. All our services are either free or low cost, based on a sliding scale.

A Stand for Social Justice
Aside from health care and education, Women's Health Specialists also provides another unique resource: our passion for social justice. With our visible presence, from information booths at community events, to tough questioning of our local representatives, to pro-choice and antiwar demonstrations, Women's Health Specialists encourages our fellow citizens to stand up for their beliefs and to provide a vital progressive presence in our community.
In today's challenging political environment, 33 years after Roe v. Wade (the legalization of abortion), we face a dangerous erosion of our reproductive rights, from pharmacists who refuse to fill birth control prescriptions to a resurgence in anti-choice terrorism, all encouraged by a political atmosphere increasingly hostile to women's self-determination and well-being.
With the support of progressive minded citizens, we can fight to ensure the preservation of women's reproductive freedom.

 

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