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Iya Pittsburgh Project

Mission/Vision
Ìyá Pittsburgh Project envisions a world where opportunity, safety, options, and dignity are the perinatal experience, not limited by socio-economic status, race, or gender.

The whole world is moving through a time of upheaval, of transition and&mdash;almost universally&mdash;humans struggle with uncertainty. We don&rsquo;t know what the future holds. It is also an opportunity to develop new, generative, and supportive models in our communities.&nbsp;At &Igrave;y&aacute; Pittsburgh, we see this as an opportunity to be responsive to the needs of those most vulnerable to the acute harms of this time. We want to offer Pittsburgh a model of a community healthcare worker, similar to the role of a Traditional Midwife. Someone who can see and incorporate the whole picture of someone&rsquo;s life to respond to their needs. And while focused on pregnancy-related care around birth, postpartum, pregnancy, and abortion access, we shall not be limited to this care or the constraints of imagination of insurance billing.With the difficulty accessing affordable healthcare, and when trans folks don&rsquo;t know if or when their access to gender affirming care will be taken away, and when our immigrant neighbors won&rsquo;t leave their homes for even the most critical reasons for fear of being separated from their family members by immigration enforcement, we know this is an urgent need.&nbsp;We know that doula, midwifery, and supportive care can meet people where they are in a way that our existing systems cannot. We believe that collectively, the community can provide for the needs of the workers, so they can focus on the care of the community members most in need. We believe that eventually, a reciprocal economy will develop.&nbsp;Our Ask:&nbsp;In order to put our energy toward this in 2026, we need your support. We&rsquo;re asking the community to provide $10,000 in monthly contributions, or getting us to a goal of $120,000 for the year.&nbsp;A trained community member who will: &nbsp;<ul fr-original-style="list-style-type: disc;" style="list-style-type: disc; box-sizing: inherit;"><li fr-original-style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.7px Arial; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000;" style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-width: normal; font-size: 14.7px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;">Answer the questions teens don&rsquo;t want to ask parents but desperately need answers to&nbsp;</li><li fr-original-style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.7px Arial; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000;" style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-width: normal; font-size: 14.7px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;">Offer workshops for birth attendants to ask questions and learn skills to better serve their clients</li><li fr-original-style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.7px Arial; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000;" style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-width: normal; font-size: 14.7px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;">Relational (as opposed to transactional) services</li><li fr-original-style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.7px Arial; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000;" style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-width: normal; font-size: 14.7px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;">Have access to the resources to provide for urgent basic needs that cannot be found elsewhere</li><li fr-original-style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.7px Arial; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000;" style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-width: normal; font-size: 14.7px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;">Be available to community members for their pregnancy, birth, or postpartum related questions and provide connections to other community resources</li><li fr-original-style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.7px Arial; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000;" style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-width: normal; font-size: 14.7px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;">Build supportive relationships with community members who are advocating for their own access to the healthcare they deserve</li><li fr-original-style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.7px Arial; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000;" style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-width: normal; font-size: 14.7px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;">Be able to meet the needs of their own families and community</li><li fr-original-style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 13.3px 0.0px; font: 14.7px Arial; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000;" style="margin: 0px 0px 13.3px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-width: normal; font-size: 14.7px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; font-size-adjust: none; font-kerning: auto; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-emoji: normal; font-feature-settings: normal; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-variation-settings: normal; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: inherit;">Meet people where they are, and care enough about them to help move them towards their goals</li></ul>We have seen that Pittsburgh wants to help our neighbors meet their needs, especially when the government and many institutions are not moving the needle enough on pregnancy-related outcomes for Black and Brown families and are caving to the pressures of an authoritarian regime. This is one way you can make a difference in the lives of many people you may not otherwise be connected to. The power of community is the only way to close the equity gap. Join us, as we redefine the expectation of&nbsp;perinatal experiences for all of our neighbors.&nbsp;

The whole world is moving through a time of upheaval, of transition and—almost universally—humans struggle with uncertainty. We don’t know what the future holds. It is also an opportunity to develop new, generative, and supportive models in our communities. At Ìyá Pittsburgh, we see this as an opportunity to be responsive to the needs of those most vulnerable to the acute harms of this time. We want to offer Pittsburgh a model of a community healthcare worker, similar to the role of a Traditional Midwife. Someone who can see and incorporate the whole picture of someone’s life to respond to their needs. And while focused on pregnancy-related care around birth, postpartum, pregnancy, and abortion access, we shall not be limited to this care or the constraints of imagination of insurance billing.With the difficulty accessing affordable healthcare, and when trans folks don’t know if or when their access to gender affirming care will be taken away, and when our immigrant neighbors won’t leave their homes for even the most critical reasons for fear of being separated from their family members by immigration enforcement, we know this is an urgent need. We know that doula, midwifery, and supportive care can meet people where they are in a way that our existing systems cannot. We believe that collectively, the community can provide for the needs of the workers, so they can focus on the care of the community members most in need. We believe that eventually, a reciprocal economy will develop. Our Ask: In order to put our energy toward this in 2026, we need your support. We’re asking the community to provide $10,000 in monthly contributions, or getting us to a goal of $120,000 for the year. A trained community member who will: Answer the questions teens don’t want to ask parents but desperately need answers to Offer workshops for birth attendants to ask questions and learn skills to better serve their clientsRelational (as opposed to transactional) servicesHave access to the resources to provide for urgent basic needs that cannot be found elsewhereBe available to community members for their pregnancy, birth, or postpartum related questions and provide connections to other community resourcesBuild supportive relationships with community members who are advocating for their own access to the healthcare they deserveBe able to meet the needs of their own families and communityMeet people where they are, and care enough about them to help move them towards their goalsWe have seen that Pittsburgh wants to help our neighbors meet their needs, especially when the government and many institutions are not moving the needle enough on pregnancy-related outcomes for Black and Brown families and are caving to the pressures of an authoritarian regime. This is one way you can make a difference in the lives of many people you may not otherwise be connected to. The power of community is the only way to close the equity gap. Join us, as we redefine the expectation of perinatal experiences for all of our neighbors.

Iya Pittsburgh Project

Iya Pittsburgh Project

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Restorative Reproductive Justice

US$1,020 of US$120,000 goal

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