Ep. 154: People Shouldn't Have to Wait for Quality Care

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EQ: How can community-based healthcare initiatives effectively address the unique healthcare needs of diverse populations?

Hope is joined by a local Tacoma professional, Dr. Gena Poling co-founder of the Link Community Clinic,  Her passion for education, public  health, and justice drives her daily practice. In this episode, we learn more about her journey from teaching into the medical field, the origin story for the Link Community Clinic including how they weathered being a pro-vaccine institution in a pandemic. 

Shout out to Space Works for all their support!

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Ep. 95: IWL Crossing--On Returning To School in Tacoma

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Tacoma Public Schools plans to return all grades to some in-person classroom teaching next month. Frankly, the “plans” sound more like “wishes,” “hopes,” “fingers crossed,” “it sure would be nice…” So, what do teachers think about that, and what should parents be asking?

Megan, Hope, and Auntie Evelyn join up again to discuss the latest news on the return to school for Tacoma Public Schools. There are only three months left in the school year–do we use them for something entirely new (which could be a super-spreader event daily), or use the time to get everything organized so that schools really can be on track to return in the fall? It’s not an easy question to answer, and well-intentioned people will have wildly different opinions based on risks, family situations, and experience.

Relevant Readings:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Call/email the City Council

  • Call/Email the school board

  • Call/email the Superintendent Carla Santorno—csantor@tacoma.k12.wa.us

    • Deputy Superintendent Josh Garcia—jgarcia2@tacoma.k12.wa.us

  • Post on Social media and tag the school district and Superintendent.

  • Get your friends to do the above

Ep. 56: An Interview With Leah Ford On Being a Boob Defender

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Note to listeners: This was our last pre-recorded episode from the summer. We recorded this back in August during National Breastfeeding Month! Enjoy!


EQ: What is the current state of women’s health in Pierce County and why is this a social justice issue?

Guest: Leah Ford,  a TESC graduate, breastfeeding peer counselor, mother of 2 and advocate for women’s health in Pierce County. 

Leah defines the role of a breastfeeding peer counselor, explains why it’s so crucial for breastfeeding moms (especially of color), and why this work is not recognized on  a systemic level. For example, while Pierce County needs more peer counselors it doesn’t offer benefits and supports to generate more interest. For varying reasons, our county doesn’t follow effective models like King County. 

Leah elaborates on the racial and ethnic disparities in breastfeeding citing important data around why Black Women Higher Risk of Pregnancy Complications and how America Is Failing Black Moms. The conversation includes wrestling with the biggest challenges in health services in Pierce County and what we need to do to overcome these issues. 

A few resources mentioned in the episode:

Champagne & Real Pain:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Annie: normalize breastfeeding by encouraging your favorite local businesses to put up signage or create a comfortable space for breastfeeding parents (not in a bathroom stall, please). 

  • Hope: Deal with your issues if you’re uncomfortable with breastfeeding--if you’re in the medical field, try to use privileges to complain/criticize/critique the system in order to improve it.

  • Leah: support moms by offering breastfeeding rooms; reconsider the time of breaks; make a policy as your office (if you don’t know what this looks like, research tool kits and adopt a reasonable policy).