Have you ever felt as though you wanted to make a change, yet you weren’t quite sure how?
In October of 2017, I began interning at a local college in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Department at Rhode Island College. At first, I felt out of place. I was unsure as to what I was passionate about and felt stuck. After several weeks, I adjusted to the new environment. The more that I grew involved in activism and community outreach, the more I realized just how much the power of a young person can do.
In December of 2017, RIC hosted a panel of folks who are living with HIV/AIDS. While learning more about HIV, I often questioned why young people didn’t know about HIV, including why it was so stigmatized. I knew that this had to change. Thus, I began researching and conducting HIV/AIDS education. As a result of this work, I educated young people about HIV, spoke on panels, and was the first-ever awardee of the HIV/AIDS Community Youth Hero award.
Later that year, I became a peer sexual health educator and taught lessons on birth control, STIs, consent and so forth. During my lessons, people often spoke on the stigma surrounding sexual health education, which is one of the reasons as to why I pursued my mission of providing sexual health education to young people.
I persisted in advocating for reproductive rights at the Rhode Island state house during my junior year of high school. In January of 2019, the Reproductive Health Care Act was introduced which would protect safe, legal abortion in Rhode Island.
Young people like me need to have access to full sexual and reproductive health care services. This includes contraceptive care, immunizations, STD/STI tests, pregnancy-related services and more. We need these services to benefit our health and our futures. We should all be able to build families when/if we are ready and plan for the future we dream of. We must be able to receive the healthcare we need and that includes abortion.
Often times, people tried to silence the voices of young activists. I was told that I was “too young” to be protesting, “too young” to be a sexual health educator, “too young” to be concerned about my healthcare. These words only fueled my passion for activism even more. In May, the RHCA was voted down. Volunteers and I were devastated, yet I knew that we could make advancements. I messaged one of my mentors and said “That’s it, we’re protesting.” That week, a youth program that I and a community organizer founded led a protest of over 80+ young people across Rhode Island who advocated for their reproductive health rights. That summer, the Reproductive Privacy act, a duplicate of the RHCA bill was passed. Safe, legal abortion is protected in Rhode Island.
All of these experiences taught me that I have the power as a young person to make a difference. Now, at 17 years old, I’ve launched a nationwide campaign called #WEWONTBESILENCED that aims to destigmatize topics of reproductive health through storytelling. The submitted stories will be considered for the book ‘We Won’t Be Silenced’ which I will be writing over the next several months. All of the donated proceeds for #WEWONTBESILENCED will go towards menstrual cups for homeless and domestic violence shelters nationwide. While organizing menstrual drives earlier this year, I recognized that a lot of plastic waste was being used. Therefore, I started researching more about menstrual cups and decided that they would be a more eco-friendly, sustainable option. By taking the steps in destigmatizing topics of reproductive health, we can make change and advance the menstrual and reproductive health movement. Let’s have these conversations, let’s break the stigma, with #WEWONTBESILENCED.
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Some Said I Was ‘Too Young’ to Fight for Reproductive Health — I Proved Them Wrong
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Have you ever felt as though you wanted to make a change, yet you weren’t quite sure how?
In October of 2017, I began interning at a local college in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Department at Rhode Island College. At first, I felt out of place. I was unsure as to what I was passionate about and felt stuck. After several weeks, I adjusted to the new environment. The more that I grew involved in activism and community outreach, the more I realized just how much the power of a young person can do.
In December of 2017, RIC hosted a panel of folks who are living with HIV/AIDS. While learning more about HIV, I often questioned why young people didn’t know about HIV, including why it was so stigmatized. I knew that this had to change. Thus, I began researching and conducting HIV/AIDS education. As a result of this work, I educated young people about HIV, spoke on panels, and was the first-ever awardee of the HIV/AIDS Community Youth Hero award.
Later that year, I became a peer sexual health educator and taught lessons on birth control, STIs, consent and so forth. During my lessons, people often spoke on the stigma surrounding sexual health education, which is one of the reasons as to why I pursued my mission of providing sexual health education to young people.
I persisted in advocating for reproductive rights at the Rhode Island state house during my junior year of high school. In January of 2019, the Reproductive Health Care Act was introduced which would protect safe, legal abortion in Rhode Island.
Young people like me need to have access to full sexual and reproductive health care services. This includes contraceptive care, immunizations, STD/STI tests, pregnancy-related services and more. We need these services to benefit our health and our futures. We should all be able to build families when/if we are ready and plan for the future we dream of. We must be able to receive the healthcare we need and that includes abortion.
Often times, people tried to silence the voices of young activists. I was told that I was “too young” to be protesting, “too young” to be a sexual health educator, “too young” to be concerned about my healthcare. These words only fueled my passion for activism even more. In May, the RHCA was voted down. Volunteers and I were devastated, yet I knew that we could make advancements. I messaged one of my mentors and said “That’s it, we’re protesting.” That week, a youth program that I and a community organizer founded led a protest of over 80+ young people across Rhode Island who advocated for their reproductive health rights. That summer, the Reproductive Privacy act, a duplicate of the RHCA bill was passed. Safe, legal abortion is protected in Rhode Island.
All of these experiences taught me that I have the power as a young person to make a difference. Now, at 17 years old, I’ve launched a nationwide campaign called #WEWONTBESILENCED that aims to destigmatize topics of reproductive health through storytelling. The submitted stories will be considered for the book ‘We Won’t Be Silenced’ which I will be writing over the next several months. All of the donated proceeds for #WEWONTBESILENCED will go towards menstrual cups for homeless and domestic violence shelters nationwide. While organizing menstrual drives earlier this year, I recognized that a lot of plastic waste was being used. Therefore, I started researching more about menstrual cups and decided that they would be a more eco-friendly, sustainable option. By taking the steps in destigmatizing topics of reproductive health, we can make change and advance the menstrual and reproductive health movement. Let’s have these conversations, let’s break the stigma, with #WEWONTBESILENCED.