First interviews begin today

I'll be heading over to TC3 this afternoon to begin speaking with female residents. In preliminary conversations with a few women last Thursday, I'm heading into these interviews with a hypothesis that the services for health care needs exist, by and large, but there's a disconnect in making sure those services are accessible and that patients know of them. One woman shared, "I'm 44 and I've never had a mammogram. I know there are places that have sliding scale fees but even $28 is too much for me to pay."

Another resident shared that she hasn't had a pap smear in several years and knows she's due for one but just doesn't know where to go. I also met a woman who's pregnant and another who was recently diagnosed with cancer. I'm not sure what prenatal care and treatment options exist and are being accessed for these residents but I'm hopeful that if they're not currently what they need, we can identify the shortfalls.

I was honored to present these brief conversations and the project at-large to the Seattle Women's Commission at their June meeting last night. In addition to being asked some incredibly thoughtful questions and hearing some helpful brainstorms about directions the project could take, the Commissioners shared the work each of their sub-committees have accomplished. One committee is working to see how current city sex education programs can include education about prostitution. As the Commission's 2011 Work Plan explains,

• It is estimated that between 300 and 500 underage girls are prostituted in King County. SWC will promote education of sexual exploitation/youth prostitution issue to educators and parents. It will also research Seattle School District's violence prevention curriculum and advocate for inclusion of teen dating violence and prostituted youth education for middle and high school students. SWC also seeks to explore building stronger connection between Youth & Families Initiative and youth prostitution issue.
• Additionally, SWC will analyze areas of influence in legislative arena and make policy recommendations; advocate for changing law around arresting underage girls for prostitution.

Additionally, while the idea of paid sick leave seems like a pretty solid 'no-brainer' to me, the majority of cities in the nation don't mandate any policy like this from their employers. While Connecticut just passed state-wide legislation mandating paid sick leave, Seattle is following in the footsteps of San Francisco and looking at it on a city-level. The Seattle City Council is considering a plan that would mandate paid sick leave for all workers, regardless of the size of the business. The Women's Commission has been at the forefront of the effort, speaking with individual council members to help convey the need. It would pretty monumental to be here when such a bill passes. Check out more details from this morning's story!