we are overwhelmed with joy after our Abortion Doula Training in Houston at The Montrose Center this past weekend! the experience was fulfilling and enlightening in so many ways, and we are immeasurably thankful to everyone who helped make that space and our presence possible. it was truly transformative work to collectively share and develop tools for empathy, accountability, learning through discomfort, intentional care-taking, compassion, self-care, and the myriad of complex support skills that we hope to practice - both as abortion doulas helping others access the care that they need, and as caring and self-reflective individuals hoping to incite change.
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Support Houston Abortion Doula Training!
Hello, lovely friends and supporters! This is noreen and morgan, Co-Directors of Cicada Collective and co-organizers and facilitators for our organization's 4th Abortion Doula Training - in Houston this weekend, October 22 & 23rd! We are so excited and grateful for all the support that has made it possible for us to make this event happen. Putting on a training involves a lot of background labor - we spent months telecommuting with organizers on the ground in Houston to fundraise, find a location, date, and interested participants while we worked on redeveloping and curating the content of the training. When the hosting doula group chose to seek other trainers at the last minute because we were unwilling to allow individuals who made racist or transphobic remarks to attend our queer and trans people of color centered training, we knew it was important to make sure the training still happened - we wanted to honor our commitment to the individuals in Houston for whom these skills are necessary tools of support and resistance. Unfortunately, we only received $120 from the original hosts after they cancelled, though they were responsible for fundraising at least $400 more to cover the costs of the training and make sure we were paid for our labor (see a breakdown of the costs below). We have used our personal funds to pay for a lot of these costs because we were not willing to raise the sliding scale fee for our participants, who would not have been able to attend without low-cost options, but this means that we are not receiving payment for our time organizing and facilitating. the total costs of putting on this training: $1445 we have covered $415 from our incoming participant fees and donated funds: -$180 room rental for training space, -$100 Houston-based facilitator for 60 min, -$75 supplies (markers, nametags, easel pad, binders, etc), -$60 gas for transportation to Houston and $430, plus unpaid labor in organizing and as facilitators, from personal funds: -$200 for printing costs, -$30 snacks for the 2-day / 16-hr training, -$200 food and lodging for 2 nights / 2 traveling facilitators. what's missing is $600 for 2 Cicada Collective facilitators for 15 hr / 2-day training(not incl unbilled hours for months of prep work, plus travel time). Our labor is valuable and we care deeply about sharing these skills - please help us make this work sustainable by supporting us and the individuals who access our services and trainings. (also, we have to pay rent next week! please help. <3) love, cicada collective |
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