about
Women with a Vision, Inc. (WWAV) was founded in 1989 by a collective of Black women in response to the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS in Black communities. Today, WWAV continues to provide grassroots-level support and advocacy at the intersections of gender, racial, and reproductive justice. Widely regarded as the leading national voice fighting the criminalization of Black women and girls in the South, WWAV programs touch on human rights, sex workers’ rights, reproductive justice, voting rights, and ending mass incarceration.
Vision
We envision a world where Black women and girls are free to achieve their wildest dreams. We envision a world where they live free from the fear of interpersonal and state violence. In the future of our dreams, Black women and girls are no longer subjected to the violence of poverty and everyone, regardless of the body they inhabit, enjoys the dignity of bodily autonomy and liberation.
OUR HISTORY
Women With A Vision, Inc (WWAV) is a community-based nonprofit, founded in 1989 by a grassroots collective of African-American women in response to the spread of HIV/AIDS in communities of color.
Recognizing that the face of HIV/AIDS has changed in the New Orleans area, with heterosexual Black women becoming the fastest growing population of newly-diagnosed cases in the city and state, this initial group of women disseminated HIV/AIDS education and substance abuse resources to individuals practicing high-risk behaviors such as injection drug use and unsafe sex practices.
We also began educating the public health sector on the need to increase prevention efforts and expand resources for comprehensive programs to address socio-economic root causes that increase communities’ vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.
Over the last 35+ years, WWAV has become New Orleans’ premier women’s health organization combining service and advocacy to address the social conditions and injustices that impact our city’s most marginalized women.
