-
Brittany Lock published Ashley Skiffer-Thompson, AAIMM Doula Program Coordinator in Doula Profiles 2022-03-22 21:54:17 -0700
Ashley Skiffer-Thompson, AAIMM Doula Program Coordinator
Ashley Skiffer-Thompson is the Program Coordinator for the AAIMM Doula Program and is committed to giving back to her community. She has spent the majority of her career in the non-profit sector within the home visitation field, gaining experiences in breastfeeding, bonding/attachment, and other maternal and child health topics.
She believes there is empowerment through advocacy and education. By providing empathetic support and encouraging medical advocacy, her hope is that families feel empowered, grounded, and valued throughout their birth journey. Driven by one of her favorite quotes, “Let the beauty we love be what we do,” Ashley Skiffer-Thompson aims to be the change she hopes to see.
What does being a Doula Mean to you?
Entering the space of birthwork has been impactful to both my personal and professional life. If I could describe what being a doula means to me in one word, it would be transformative. As I reflect on my perspective of birthwork, healing and empowerment are at the center. It is my belief that you have to be able to take care of yourself to show up as your full self for others. As I show up as my full self, I am able to reflect, model and encourage families to heal and care for themselves.
One reason a family should consider having a doula:I value empowerment through advocacy and education. Within my doula work, I provide education to ensure that my families are informed and empowered by centering their voices, wants and needs. By providing empathetic support and encouraging self/medical advocacy, my hope is that my families feel empowered, grounded and valued throughout their birth journey.
-
Renett Clough, AAIMM DOULA
"As a doula, I am privileged to provide support, advocacy, and create safe spaces for birthing families in my community."
– Renett Clough, AAIMM Doula
-
Lorna Leverette, AAIMM DOULA
"Doulas walk families through the tough and confusing stuff, and let them know that everything they may be feeling is valid."
— Lorna Leverette, AAIMM Doula
-
Mercedez Johnson, AAIMM DOULA
“Being a doula to me means honor, support, education, sacredness, dedication, listening, affirming, reiterating forgotten thoughts, building community, joy, resiliency, being a voice for the voiceless, and much more.”
– Mercedez Johnson, AAIMM Doula
-
Brittany Lock published FREE TAX PREP LOS ANGELES - EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT RESOURCES in News 2022-03-21 23:22:19 -0700
-
Brittany Lock published Register to participate in the Guaranteed Income Pilot Program in AV, “Breathe LA” in News 2022-03-16 21:02:53 -0700
Register to participate in the Guaranteed Income Pilot Program in AV, “Breathe LA”
A message from our AV AAIMM Backbone Agency partner Project Joy:
Read more
-
March is Women’s History Month!
The Library of Congress, National Archives Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of American History.
-
Brittany Lock published Youth With A Purpose (YWAP) : Mommy Mentor Program in News 2022-03-05 13:30:33 -0800
Youth With A Purpose (YWAP) : Mommy Mentor Program
Youth With a purpose is launching a mentor and mentee program for moms under 29 in the Antelope Valley.
-
Brittany Lock published LA Saves - Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) in News 2022-02-28 23:19:21 -0800
LA Saves - Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA)
LA SAVES NEWSLETTER: TAX SEASON IS HERE
Read more
-
Brittany Lock published DAVION MAULDIN, DPH FATHERHOOD COORDINATOR in News 2022-02-24 00:18:05 -0800
DAVION MAULDIN, DPH FATHERHOOD COORDINATOR
We recently asked Davion Mauldin, MS, Los Angeles Department of Public Health Fatherhood Coordinator, a few questions about his fatherhood journey. We hope his answers will inspire you and give insight into the incredibly important role that fathers play in the lives of their children. Davion also heads the Expecting Fathers Group for Black Dads, which has a new five-week educational workshop kicking off on Tuesday, January 25.
Read more
-
-
Brittany Lock published Black History Month Spotlight On: Bridget "Biddy" Mason in News 2022-02-17 08:33:24 -0800
Black History Month Spotlight On: Bridget "Biddy" Mason
Bridget Biddy Mason (1818-1891) was one of the first landowners in Los Angeles beginning in the 1850s and founded the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in L.A. in 1872.
Although born a slave in Mississippi, Mason migrated with her last owner, Robert Marion Smith, a Mormon convert, to the state of Utah. Along the 1,700 mile, 300-wagon caravan trek—which she traversed entirely on foot—Mason set up and broke down the camp, cooked the meals, herded cattle and....served as a midwife—all while caring for her own three daughters, one of which was a newborn.
Read more
-
Brittany Lock published AAIMM Partner Gerald Garth Opens Up About His New Role as Center’s Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in News 2022-02-14 22:20:25 -0800
AAIMM Partner Gerald Garth Opens Up About His New Role as Center’s Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
[Gerald Garth is a part of the AAIMM network, and Lead facilitator of the AAIMM Village Fund.]
'It was June 2020 and Gerald Garth was asked to do a video interview with the Los Angeles Times about his role as one of the main organizers of the All Black Lives Matter march that was only days away.
For the interview setting, the reporter chose the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Bayard Rustin Plaza, named for the openly gay civil rights activist who was the organizing genius behind the 1963 March on Washington and a top advisor to Martin Luther King.
“It’s a moment I’ll never forget,” Garth tells LGBT News Now.
In early January, he found himself back at the Center but this time to begin his job as the newly-hired director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).
“When I saw the Center’s commitment to really lifting, expanding, and growing its work in addressing racism and equality and equity, I saw an opportunity for me to bring my skills and strengths to a place that has been just a pillar in LGBTQ+ health and wellness,” he says. “I’ve always celebrated the Center and the great work that it has done. It has been a beacon and uplifted so many people and communities.”
Garth has already began working with Center leadership and with a staff DEI committee to create a racial equity plan for the Center. The goal of the plan is to establish actionable and measurable initiatives in every Center department to further the effort of dismantling systemic racism.
“If we liken ourselves to an orchestra, there is value coming from every section but it has to be moving and playing together for it to be at its best,” he explains. “One of my goals is to really help break a number of the silos that we have historically seen in the Center and tie that work together.”
Read more
-
Brittany Lock published Job Opening: Perinatal Equity Initiative Coordinator in News 2022-02-06 21:57:45 -0800
Job Opening: Perinatal Equity Initiative Coordinator
The Perinatal Equity Initiative Coordinator will be responsible for conducting a range of tasks related to the effective and efficient implementation of the Perinatal Equity Initiative (PEI) and the Los Angeles County Five-Year Plan to address racial inequality in birth outcomes.
The Los Angeles County AAIMM Prevention Initiative is a coalition of the Los Angeles County Departments of Public Health, Health Services, and Mental Health, First 5 LA, community organizations, mental and health care providers, funders, and community members. We are united in one purpose: to address the unacceptably high rates of Black infant and maternal deaths in the county and ensure healthy and joyous births for Black families. Through a series of comprehensive coordinated strategies, we aim to reduce the county's gap in Black/White infant mortality rates by 30% by 2023.
The AAIMM Initiative approaches its work from a frame that the root cause of the mortality disparity is the stress caused by a Black person’s exposure to racism and the impact of that stress on a Black woman/birthing person’s body, compounded by structures in society that perpetuate racism, and the presence of implicit and overt bias in the systems of support that interact with Black families.
The Perinatal Equity Initiative (PEI) was established in the state legislature's Budget Act of 2018 as the Department of Public Health’s response to the alarming statewide gap in Black infant mortality. PEI is designed as a complement to the state's Black Infant Health (BIH) Program, a group-based service, information and social support program for Black mothers to buffer the negative effects of racism on their health. The goal of PEI is to improve birth outcomes and reduce preterm birth and mortality through interventions implemented at the county level that are evidence-based, evidence-informed or reflect promising practices.
Read more
-
FREE DOULA SUPPORT
If you're a Black person with a Due Date before January 15th - You may qualify for a NO COST Doula Program
See flyer for details!
Read more
-
Brittany Lock published Los Angeles Effort to Tackle Gaps in Black Maternal and Infant Health Passes Two-Year Mark as White House Issues Call to Action on Issue in News 2021-12-17 11:05:34 -0800
Los Angeles Effort to Tackle Gaps in Black Maternal and Infant Health Passes Two-Year Mark as White House Issues Call to Action on Issue
LOS ANGELES (Dec. 16, 2021) — Communities Lifting Communities (CLC), the Public Health Alliance of Southern California (Alliance), and the Hospital Association of Southern California (HASC), recently marked the end of its first, two-year cohort of Cherished Futures for Black Moms & Babies, a collaborative effort to reduce Black maternal and infant health inequities in Los Angeles County.
The Cherished Futures landmark took place just prior to a Dec. 7 White House statement that identified reducing maternal mortality and morbidity as a strategic objective of the Biden-Harris Administration. The statement followed a presidential proclamation released during April’s Black Maternal Health Week, when Vice President Kamala Harris presided over a roundtable on the issue.
“Black women in our country are facing a maternal health crisis,” Harris said at the time. “We know the primary reasons why: systemic racial inequities and implicit bias,”
-
Brittany Lock published “Dear Baby...When I Love You, I Love Me” featuring Jessica Wade of Mighty Little Giants in News 2021-11-30 20:07:14 -0800
“Dear Baby...When I Love You, I Love Me” featuring Jessica Wade of Mighty Little Giants
We believe in the importance of centering the real experiences of Black mothers/birthing persons. This effort deeply connects people to the narratives that relate to our work and, rather, to the people for whom this work was created. It also allows us to share the joys as well as sit with the gravity of the birthing experience.
Read more
-
AAIMM DOULA RECRUITMENT!
ARE YOU A DOULA WHO WORKS WITH BLACK/AFRICAN AMERICAN PREGNANT WOMEN AND FAMILIES?
WE'RE HIRING!
See Flyer Below For More Detail!
-
Brittany Lock published March of Dimes Prematurity Awareness Month 2021 in News 2021-11-19 00:04:31 -0800
March of Dimes Prematurity Awareness Month 2021
We love to welcome new babies into the world, but we don’t want to welcome them too soon.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. remains among the most dangerous developed nations for childbirth—a crisis fueled by the health equity gap in our health care system that puts women and babies of color at the greatest risk.
Read more
-
Brittany Lock published LA GUARANTEED BASIC INCOME PILOT APPLICATION OPENING in News 2021-11-05 22:53:52 -0700
LA GUARANTEED BASIC INCOME PILOT APPLICATION OPENING
If your family has been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and needs financial assistance, you may qualify for help through BIG:LEAP. The City of Los Angeles has launched the BIG:LEAP (Basic Income Guaranteed: Los Angeles Economic Assistance Pilot) program, the largest guaranteed basic income pilot in the nation designed to bring about more equitable opportunities for families. The City’s program will provide $1,000 a month for 12 months to approximately 3,200 eligible families across Los Angeles in an effort to increase financial opportunities for households who are living below the poverty line.
Read more
Brittany Lock
Website/Content Manager