Reconnecting after a challenging year...

2022 posed significant financial and interpersonal challenges for our collective and community. Despite unprecedented circumstances, Sueños Sin Fronteras honors our collective determination and courage in overcoming these challenges. Our team has dedicated most of 2022 to restructuring our operations and programming to better respond to our community's evolving needs. We’re building something special and cannot go without expressing our deepest gratitude for your ongoing support over the past four years.

COVID-19 exacerbated existing inequities impacting undocumented communities, such as inaccessibility of health services and resources, widespread misinformation, and the negative impact of oppressive State policies that have threatened the dignity and bodily autonomy of pregnant and birthing immigrants in Texas. 2022 highlighted the importance of implementing sustainable practices from the inside out. As a small grassroots collective led by directly impacted community members, maintaining our operations and redeveloping our programming while navigating external political threats wasn’t easy. Despite the unprecedented challenges, SSFTX honors our collective determination to overcome these challenges. We believe in our ability to co-create sustainable practices rooted in ancestral knowledge and care for our communities.

SSFTX aims to build and sustain this work in 2023 by implementing the following internal practices: 

Setting Equal Pay Rates: As a self-governed collective, SSFTX aims to decentralize responsibility and autonomy among staff members by implementing an equal pay rate for all team members. 

Implementing a 4-Day Work Week: We have decided to transition to a four-day workweek to provide team members the space necessary to pursue other activities outside of work that honor their autonomy and joy.

Providing Paid Parental Leave: As a Reproductive Justice-focused collective, we believe in living out the values of RJ not just in our work, but in our own lives. We have prioritized providing 3-months of paid parental leave for an SSFTX team member who recently gave birth. 

Allocating Monthly Wellness Stipends to Staff: A monthly wellness stipend will be allocated to team members to support their health and wellness needs. 

In addition to restructuring our internal operations, SSFTX will relaunch its Health Advocate Project in 2023 with a focus on co-creating culturally sensitive, bilingual educational spaces that center community building and peer support. The project will also incorporate mutual aid practices that support the material needs of immigrant pregnant and birthing people and their families in San Antonio, Tejas.

As directly impacted community members, this work is deeply personal to us. We recognize firsthand the need to build care and wellness practices to sustain our movements for the long haul. 

In May 2022, SSFTX was selected to participate in the Highlander Research and Education Center's Southern Beyond Survival Fellowship. The opportunity provided training and support around methodologies like solidarity economy, community governance, and cultural organizing.

With the support of the Highlander Fellowship, we hosted our first popular education convivio on September 24th, 2022. The convivio brought directly impacted community members together to dream of and build solutions together. We laughed, cried, ate, and spoke about our dreams for the future. Many thanks to Jaime's Place for sharing their space with us! We can't wait to host more in-person convivios in the new year. 

SSFTX also had the opportunity to participate in Highlander's 90th Homecoming Celebration in East Tennessee at the end of September. The weekend's theme was "There's a New World Coming." We participated in inspiring, hopeful, and joyful workshops focused on resistance, healing, and care.

SSFTX, along with the March of Dimes San Antonio, Puro Unity, 7th Generations Doula, and UT Health San Antonio, distributed diapers and wipes to community members at the "Fería de Bebe" event at Jaime's Place in San Antonio in June 2022. The event allowed us to connect and build with fellow community organizations in San Antonio.

SSFTX also participated in a transnational conversation led by Latinas en Poder. It featured repro health-focused orgs from Argentina, Chile, El Salvador, the U.S., Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. The goal of the gathering was to connect with international organizations navigating anti-abortion governments in their countries and co-create intersectional strategies.

October Birth Justice Storytelling Workshop

In October, SSFTX co-founder and Reproductive Justice collaborator Isabel Zepeda, co-facilitated a Birth Justice Storytelling Workshop in partnership with the University of Texas at San Antonio, March of Dimes San Antonio, AB Community Development Solutions, and the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. The healing circles focused on community members' birth experiences and provided community members with HEB gift cards and on-site childcare.

SSFTX co-directors Mariela Jasso and Laura Molinar presented at the 2022 Texas Conference on Ending Homelessness in Austin, Texas September 28th, 2022. Their presentation, "Reproductive Justice and Housing Instability: Implications for Immigrant Communities," provided an analysis of the intersections between Reproductive Justice, housing instability, and immigration. We are deeply grateful to the Texas Homelessness Network for this opportunity to connect with fellow educators, leaders, and organizations. 

In October, our team members drove to the Texas Hill Country for a 2-day retreat where we discussed and planned the next steps for SSFTX in the new year. Our collective development included sharing our reflections, setting boundaries, developing supportive ways to address conflict, and creating our vision for the new year. Our team also prepared and enjoyed delicious food with one another.

Collective Rest 12/23/2022 - 01/04/2023

Sueños Sin Fronteras will be taking a collective rest starting from 12/23/2022 - 01/06/2022. We will return to the office on Monday, January 9th, 2023. As part of our collective commitment to slowing down and being present with our loved ones, we will not respond to emails until we return. We hope you and your loved ones have the time and space to practice collective care and rest this season. 

We express our deepest gratitude to our supporters, volunteers, and community partners for your ongoing support this past year. Thank you for accompanying us throughout this journey. We are excited to share what we've learned and what we're committed to building alongside our community in 2023!