Series Description

Disability Justice Grounded Birthwork

Disability Justice Grounded Birthwork: An Immersion Series, is a: 12 week series (10 weeks of content; 2 weeks of community building) on the intersections of Disability Justice and Reproductive Justice. We will immerse ourselves in the origins of eugenics and how it has shaped the medical industrial complex and policing we see today. Then we will ground in how the MIC and policing have shaped and sustain the current ableist and hostile state of reproductive care and anti-bodily autonomy. We will take considerable time centering the most and multi marginalized folks navigating these systems and communities. We will round this experience out with how to do this work mindfully, equitably and sustainably, while centering care. This is for: All birthworkers, doulas, birthkeepers and folks who do reproductive care and support. Abortion, Birth, Fertility, Grief & Loss, Postpartum and more. While this series is centered on the full spectrum of birth and reproductive care workers, it is also open to parents and caregivers and I encourage you to sign up!

View Course Curriculum

    1. New Lesson

    1. Intro and Grounding

    2. Community & Collective Support Agreements

    3. Foundational Reading

    4. Session 1 Zoom

    1. Articles

    1. Articles

    2. Foundational Readingggg

    3. Additional Relevant Reading

    4. Session 2 PowerPoint

    5. Session 2 Zoom Recording

    1. Foundational Reading

    2. Session 3 PowerPoint

    3. Session 3 Zoom Recording

    4. Additional Relevant Reading Session 3

    1. Centering Survivorhood Slides

    2. Zoom!

    3. Session Chat

About this course

  • $1,125.00

General Overview

  • All 12 sessions will be LIVE, every Friday at 12-2:30 pm Central Time starting Friday July 12, 2024

  • Full Scholarships for Black and/or Indigenous Disabled Birthworkers and Parents are available. Email [email protected]

  • Cost of series is sliding scale: $325 (for disabled folks), $525, $825, and $1,125. One time payment and 3 month payment plans are available

  • You will have access to all materials and recordings for 1 year

  • Weekly materials and reflection questions

  • If you have any additional access needs please email [email protected]

  • Registration for Series is LIVE NOW! Until Thursday July 18th, 2024

Pricing Options

25 Full Scholarships are available to Black &/or Indigenous Disabled Birthworkers and/or parents. Please email me, [email protected] to apply. One time and 3 month payment plans are available below:

  • $1,125.00

    $1,125.00Disability Justice Grounded Birthwork

    Community Solidarity Level
    One Time Payment

  • $825.00

    $825.00Disability Justice Grounded Birthwork

    Sustainer Level
    One Time Payment

  • $525.00

    $525.00Disability Justice Grounded Birthwork

    Access Level
    One Time Payment

  • $325.00

    $325.00Disability Justice Grounded Birthwork

    For Disabled Folks
    One Time Payment

  • $1,125: 3 Payments of $375

    $1,125: 3 Payments of $375Disability Justice Grounded Birthwork

    Community Solidarity Level
    3 monthly Payments

  • $825: 3 Payments of $275

    $825: 3 Payments of $275Disability Justice Grounded Birthwork

    Sustainer Level
    3 Monthly Payments

  • $575: 3 Payments of $175

    $575: 3 Payments of $175Disability Justice Grounded Birthwork

    Access Level
    3 Monthly Payments

  • 3 Payments of $109

    3 Payments of $109Disability Justice Grounded Birthwork

    For Disabled Folks
    3 Monthly Payments

Pricing Option Support

If you are trying to decide what level to chose, I invite you to consider:

  1. Your current financial situation.

  2. Both your marginalized and privileged identities and how that impacts how you move in this world and thus how you will impact this series and how it will impact you and your practice.

  3. The TRUE worth of this series. I, a Black queer disabled gender expansive birthworker created this from scratch. We have 5 additional Black, queer, disabled and covid cautious community facilitators coming to share their knowledge. You will be learning from those most impacted in a space that also cares about your access needs, your learning AND your unlearning. 

I have added “The Green Bottle” which is a resource to help folks think about their financial positioning. The image is below and the link to the full explanation is HERE

Access Notes

Below are the access features for this series. If you have additional access needs please reach out to me [email protected]

  • ASL interpretation will be available for all sessions including integration and community weeks

  • Captions will be available for all sessions including integration and community weeks

  • All sessions will be recorded and uploaded on the Thinkific platform, within 48 hours of the session

Instructor(s)

Rise (they/he)

Series Creator & Primary Facilitator

Rise is a queer Black disabled femme on Potawatomi, Ojibwa, and Odawa territory (Chicago). Rise is a visual artist, poet, full spectrum (birth/postpartum/grief & loss/abortion) birthworker, yoga teacher, meditation facilitator, gender affirming and trauma informed care and disability justice educator, access consultant and community care worker. Rise is deeply invested in disability justice, access, centering wellness for Black queer folk, trauma education, and rest. When not doing the most, they enjoy daydreaming, dancing, and hanging with their support pup, Jelly Ferocious. Rise started their business Riotous Roots, as a means to house their talents, passions and dreams for their communities in one place. You can learn more about them at www.riotousroots.com or @riotous_roots on Instagram Image Description: Rise is pictured in front of a beautiful cyan blue wall from the chest up. They are a Black brown skin femmeboi with a white and black stripe tank top. They have on a pink and gold hoop earrings, and a green and white leopard printed head wrap

Instructor(s)

Ja'Loni (they/them)

Community Facilitator

Welcome Ja'Loni! Ja'Loni will be your Community Facilitator for "Centering Survivorhood" and Co-Community Facilitator for "Protecting Disabled, Chronically Ill and Neurodivergent Pregnant People: Lateral Advocacy, Harm Reduction and Carceral Systems" Ja'Loni Amor is a Black queer reproductive justice organizer and full-spectrum doula of Puerto Rican and New Afrikan descent. Ja'Loni's work as an organizer and doula centers Black gender marginalized communities, Black queer and trans people, Black people living with disabilities, and Black people navigating experiences of criminalization, including but not limited to the criminalization of abortion access, gender-affirming care, and drug use. Grounded in the Black radical politics of Reproductive Justice, Abolition, and Pan-Africanism, Ja'Loni believes in the leadership of radical survivors of violence, who are the true architects of safe, sustainable and free communities no longer subjected to carceral control. Also a co-founder of Transfuturist Collective, bodily autonomy is similarly a deeply held core value of theirs. Image Description: Ja'Loni, a gender marginalized person of Puerto Rican and New Afrikan descent, is pictured from the chest up. They have a black shirt and green button down over it. They have a gold necklace on, red lipstick and their Black curly hair is pinned up.

Instructor(s)

Charlie (they/them) Monlouis Anderle

Community Facilitator

Welcomeeee Charlie! Charlie is our Community Facilitator for "Postpartum is Forever and PMADS Suck" Charlie is up way too late writing this bio. As a libra sun and moon they are intentional, choosy, and like to take their time… until their rising sagittarius takes over to compulsively *hit send*. As a full-spectrum doula they have accompanied folx, fags, friends and families through numerous transitions: conception, pregnancy, birth, lactation, postpartum, adoption, pregnancy and infant loss, and abortion to name a few. They are expanding the scope of “full-spectrum” care through peer mentorship with other birth workers who are growing skills to support trans and gender non-conforming people through the beautiful, messy, and miraculous process of becoming themselves. Charlie is also a student-midwife. They arrived at midwifery through the desire to offer the clinical care they were missing in their own highly-medicalized gender transition–care that is trauma-informed and grounded in relationships moving at the pace of trust. They are happiest while loudly playing lowrider oldies and pouring their heart into a pan of frying plantains. Image Description: Charlie is a light skin person laying on a blanket in the grass. The have on yellow pants and a black tank top. They have a gold necklace on. the They are smizing as their big brown curly hair frames their face.

Instructor(s)

ShiShi (she/her) Rose

Community Facilitator

Welcomeee ShiShi! ShiShi will be facilitating "Centering Parents and Caregivers A-Z" Covid cautious single mama, educator, community organizer, lactation consultant, and full spectrum Doula with focus on Postpartum wellness, recovery, community involvement in postpartum, and generational healing/trauma processing. ShiShi has over 10+ working in and around the prenatal and postpartum space. And predominately works with Black, low income parents and their loved ones providing education, support, advocacy, and community outreach. Full spectrum care for new parents include all parts of the journey from preconception through longterm postpartum healing alone with assisting immune compromised parents to navigate support while maintaining their pandemic boundaries. Image Description: ShiShi is pictured from the chest up in front of a satin blue background. She has on a red off the shoulder dress, flower tattoos on her shoulder and silver necklaces and earrings. She's wearing hot pink lipstick and her black shoulder length twist out frames her face.

Bilen she/her

Community Facilitator

Welcomeeee Bilen! Bilen will be co- facilitating "Reclaiming Grief" with me! Bilen joined the staff as Operations Director in September 2023, but has been a Mirror Memoirs Member since recording her story in our audio archive in 2017. She is a multifaceted professional with a passion for care work and social justice. For over a decade, Bilen was a full spectrum doula grounded in liberatory practices, bridging the gaps in interdependence and providing support during life's most challenging transitions with compassion and understanding. She also has expertise in urban agriculture and food justice, serving as Outreach Coordinator at GreenThumb (Department of Parks & Recreation - NYC), co-founding Black Urban Growers, and contributing to educational programming for community gardens and urban farms. She was also a Program Manager at Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment, where she co-created the Academy of Environmental Leadership. Throughout her journey, Bilen remains devoted to developing offerings in various areas of care work and making a positive impact in the lives of others. Her commitment to empowerment, inclusivity, and compassionate care shines through her professional endeavors. Bilen holds a BA in Environmental Studies from Mount Holyoke College and an MA in Social Science: Environment & Community from Humboldt State University Image Description: Bilen is pictured from the waist up with short sleeve all black dress on. Bilen has curly black hair that is shoulder length and dark red lipstick. the background is a greyish shed. Bilen is smizzing

Instructor(s)

Bilen she/her

Community Facilitator

Welcomeeee Bilen! Bilen will be co- facilitating "Reclaiming Grief" with me! Bilen joined the staff as Operations Director in September 2023, but has been a Mirror Memoirs Member since recording her story in our audio archive in 2017. She is a multifaceted professional with a passion for care work and social justice. For over a decade, Bilen was a full spectrum doula grounded in liberatory practices, bridging the gaps in interdependence and providing support during life's most challenging transitions with compassion and understanding. She also has expertise in urban agriculture and food justice, serving as Outreach Coordinator at GreenThumb (Department of Parks & Recreation - NYC), co-founding Black Urban Growers, and contributing to educational programming for community gardens and urban farms. She was also a Program Manager at Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment, where she co-created the Academy of Environmental Leadership. Throughout her journey, Bilen remains devoted to developing offerings in various areas of care work and making a positive impact in the lives of others. Her commitment to empowerment, inclusivity, and compassionate care shines through her professional endeavors. Bilen holds a BA in Environmental Studies from Mount Holyoke College and an MA in Social Science: Environment & Community from Humboldt State University Image Description: Bilen is pictured from the waist up with short sleeve all black dress on. Bilen has curly black hair that is shoulder length and dark red lipstick. the background is a greyish shed. Bilen is smizzing

FAQ

  • Can I attend even if I don't currently or have never practiced birthwork?

    Absolutely! You definitely do not have to be practicing to come. The point of me creating this was to show how disability justice is very much so integral to our collective liberation and therefore essential to reproductive justice. You will learn skills that are and in addition to birthwork including but not limited to: * how to show up for yourself from a dj lens * How to show up for current or potential clients from a DJ lens * How ableism impacts our collective and daily lives * Our own access needs (because we all have them) and how that impacts how we show up for other *Doing this work sustainably *How the medical industrial complex and policing is tied to reproductive health

  • Can I come even though I'm in the U.S.?

    Yes of course!

  • Do I have to attend every live session?

    Of course not! Things happen and also sometimes you just don't want to. The recording of each session will be uploaded withing 48 hours

  • Why does registration end on Thurs July 18th?

    That Thursday is 1 day before the second session of the course. I don't want people to feel like they are behind. I also want to respect the space that we are co-creating, with the folks who signed up beforehand

  • Why Fridays at 12-2:30 PM CST?

    When I was deciding on the time I was thinking about multiple things: 1. The non traditional schedule that many birth and reproductive care workers have 2. The non traditional schedule that many disabled people have 3. Parents! Especially those with school aged young people. I wanted it to be a time around lunch/school ending, taking into consideration different times zones also 4. It's summer! Even though this series is going to be epic, it's summer and I want folks to have their weekends

  • If I sign up and pay but don't like it, can I receive a refund?

    There are no refunds or reimbursements after signing up and paying. I would however, love to know why you decided to discontinue and would be open to being in conversation with you about it.