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Community Spotlight: 

Our Mission

Sisters of Color United for Education believes that indigenous communities have the inherent ability to achieve health equity through education, community mobilization and systems change.

Vision

To create health equity in underserved communities by embracing wellness in mind, body, and spirit.

Values

The values Sisters upholds are: empowerment, social justice, human rights and respect for differences. Sisters serves underserved and under-insured populations through health education and promotion.

Philosophy

We are grounded in a belief that indigenous communities have the inherent strengths, abilities and wisdom to mobilize for a better quality of life.

When people achieve physical, mental and spiritual health, they can become of service to their communities by providing their families and communities with culturally relevant education as promotoras, or promoters of health.

We believe corazon cura corazon–heart heals heart–based on a foundation of non-judgmental harm reduction. We guide and motivate participants through creating plans to better their quality of life as they see it, offering tools and support to implement and sustain those plans.

Proven Community Need

Maria, a stay-at-home mom with three children, thought it her wifely duty to have unprotected sex with her husband. She never thought much about the marks on his arms, and never dreamed her own husband was secretly using injection drugs, but he was. A lack of culturally appropriate education on issues such as domestic violence and HIV/AIDS put Maria at risk and she never even knew it. Maria died from AIDS, two years after her husband, leaving her three children orphaned.

History

Two Xicanas frustrated with the lack of proactive health services for women in their community started SCUE more than 15 years ago by providing educational and prevention materials out of their cars and hosting discussions in their homes.

They recognized the staggering economic, cultural, political and social barriers that increase health risks for many Xicanas, Mexicanas, and ‘Latinas’: poverty, lack of formal education, unequal family power dynamics fueled by taboos about sexuality, and community stigmas associated with illness.

They offered Latinas a safe and supportive environment in which to address sensitive health issues, developing a holistic preventive health program reflecting traditional Latino cultural values with emphasis on building trusting relationships, and recognizing the impact of intergenerational familial relationships within the context of treatment.

Today, Sisters promotes healthy lifestyles and healthy sexual behaviors through culturally appropriate training, outreach and client advocacy