By: Amanda Hart March is Women’s History Month. We here at the Free Press decided to celebrate by highlighting women and organizations in our community that are making their own history. Today’s interview is with Lina Aziz. Lina is part of a project that is making strides here in Houston by creating a safe and comfortable environment for South Asian women to talk about their sexuality. What is Yoni Ki Baat? Yoni Ki Baat roughly translates from Hindi as “Talks of the Vagina.” Yoni Ki Baat is a live performance of monologues by women of South Asian origin. The inspiration ... Read More »

By: Amanda Hart March is Women’s History month. We here at the Free Press decided to celebrate by highlighting women and organizations in our community that are making their own history. Today’s interview is with Mission at Serenity Ranch. Mission at Serenity Ranch is a rehabilitation program for victims of human trafficking here in Houston. They are committed to providing the women they serve with not only a safe environment, but also a comprehensive program that will facilitate a smooth transition from recovery to a healthy, confident, capable, and self-reliant member of society. What is Serenity Ranch and how was ... Read More »

  Interview by Amanda Hart  March is Women’s History month. We here at the Free Press decided to celebrate by highlighting women and organizations in our community that are making their own history. Our first interview is with the Houston Area Women’s Center. What is the Houston Area Women’s Center? The Houston Area Women’s Center helps individuals affected by domestic and sexual violence in their efforts to move their lives forward. We provide shelter, counseling, and advocacy to support them in building lives free from the effects of violence. We seek social change to end domestic and sexual violence through ... Read More »

As the first of the year again meant rules changes to the Texas Women’s Health Program by the Health and Human Services Commission, 50,000+ Texas women will need to scramble to find new providers. The State and HHSC promise that it will be provided for.  But at what cost to quality and availability to these women and their families? The Texas Women’s Health Progam (WHP) was initiated in 2005 as a joint federal and state service to provide checkups and birth control, to low-income, uninsured women who are not pregnant.  The WHP covers preventive care and contraception, including a yearly examination with screening for ... Read More »

This came in from Creative Women Unite. Check it out! Greetings! We are so happy to announce that Creative Women Unite is partnering with Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts (MECA) this year for our annual International Women’s Day and Women’s Herstory Month Celebration. We are currently looking for female visual and performing artists to participate in our events that will take place on March 8th and 9th at MECA, 1900 Kane St, Houston TX, 77007. Our youth hold the capability to bring about positive change for the future. Embracing the knowledge of the past may help guide them ... Read More »

By Amanda Hart Photos by Erica Raggett A new coffee shop recently opened in the Heights, and it’s serving up a lot more than just your daily dose of caffeine. A 2nd Cup and its creator, Erica Raggett, are taking on human trafficking one cup of coffee at a time. They are located at 1035 E. 11th St., and their current hours of operation are Sundays from 8am-2pm and Tuesdays from 4pm-10pm. Free Press Houston sat down with Erica to talk about how A 2nd Cup came to be and what they hope to accomplish here in Houston. FPH: Who ... Read More »

"The 'Drug War' kills more people than drugs themselves." - Tony Payan, Ph.D., Baker Institute (Rice University) Scholar for Immigration and Border Studies Read More »

As of August 1st, under the Affordable Healthcare Act, life just got a helluva lot better for women. All FDA approved forms of birth control – including the pill, IUD’s and more – are all officially available through private insurance companies with no cost sharing like co-pays or deductibles  for the women they cover.  There are many things the the health care act has made available specific to women’s health. Pap smears and annual wellness exams are also now covered by your insurance with no extra cost to you! Besides the birth control and preventative screenings now available the act ... Read More »

By Dr. Absinthe Holiday season is upon us. In a few more weeks it will be Thanksgiving], then your gift-giving holiday of choice, followed closely by New Year’s Eve. Time spent (fighting) with family. Long lines everywhere. Annoying, cutesy jewelry and car commercials. Watching (hopefully) good football. The return of your favorite holiday movies. Nonstop Christmas music, everywhere. Wishing you had a date to any of your friends’ parties, or wondering why the hell you even started dating that jerk face of a romantic partner anyway. The War on Christmas”!. The inevitable disappearance of the Pumpkin Spice latte for another ... Read More »

By: Dr. Absinthe One of those most liberating sexual experiences I’ve had was with an out-of-town friend whose place I was crashing at one weekend. We had gone on a few coffee shop dates while he lived in Houston and had become friends, but we never moved beyond that to make it to either of our bedrooms before he moved. After he agreed to house me for the weekend while I was visiting his town he said there was a futon I could have full reign of but he also mentioned he found me attractive and was always welcome to ... Read More »