Apiary Launches!
Apiary Launches as New Membership Organization for Abortion Practical Support
“Every restriction [to abortion access] makes it more important that practical support run effectively.”
We are proud and excited to announce the launch of Apiary, a new membership organization by and for abortion practical support organizations (PSOs) as well as a large-scale seed funding campaign to ensure this work can continue.
Practical support – helping people attend medical appointments by providing assistance and funding for housing, travel, food, childcare, and more – has become the silent backbone of abortion access by ensuring that people seeking abortions can physically get to their care. As more restrictions are enacted (up to and possibly including the overturn of Roe by the Supreme Court), the need for practical support increases. Until now, there has not been a space in the movement that centers its mission and services on the complicated, nuanced work of practical support; Apiary fills that need. We are a hub for PSOs to work more effectively and collaboratively. Our strategy and vision is developed by the feedback, needs, and experiences of the practical support groups already on the ground.
In May 2021, Apiary’s Co-Directors organized and led the first ever practical support summit which had 125 attendees from 45 organizations, 20 states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Canada. This landmark event reinforced the deep desire for this space and the urgency by which it is needed.
In its first year, Apiary will:
Work with partners and PSOs to build a national directory and community group of existing practical support groups, allowing members to see who else is providing these services, in what capacity, and where.
Organize regional and national conversations about how a Supreme Court ruling could impact practical support work and what will need to happen to prepare for it locally, regionally, and nationally.
Provide monthly programmatic, operational, and needs-based trainings to members, starting in the summer.
Continue our biweekly group calls for individuals to crowdsource problem solving, celebrate, commiserate, and share new ideas.
In order to build these systems, Apiary is raising $125,000 to fund this work through the end of 2021. For more information about the campaign, visit www.apiarycollective.org/seed-funding.
Apiary is a fiscally sponsored project of the Midwest Access Coalition and borne out of the collaborative work of founders Odile Schalit of the Brigid Alliance, Diana Parker-Kafka of the Midwest Access Coalition and Marisa Falcon. Marisa now serves as Co-Director with Tessa Benson, and Odile and Diana serve on the Advisory Committee.