Institute for Women & Ethnic Studies
Signatory: Denese Shervington, President & CEO
Joined: January 2016
Contact: Denese Shervington, President & CEO
Founded in 1993, IWES is a national, non-profit health organization, domiciled in New Orleans, formed to improve the physical, mental and spiritual health and quality of life for women of color and their families, particularly among those socio-economically disadvantaged.
IWES works to translate community-driven research, information, advocacy and partnerships, into effective policy, trainings and programs that heal communities, reframe and build resilience, especially among those facing chronic adversity and structural inequities. This approach also provides a channel for the voices, perspectives, and experience of communities to be carried to agencies, institutions, and policy-makers.
Current projects include:
Mental Health Research: A 5 year research project (2015-2020) survey of youth ages 11-16 in New Orleans for symptoms of traumatic stress disorders
Poly-victimization research: Over the next 3 years (2017-2020), IWES will partner with the New Orleans Family Justice Center to conduct research on effective treatment modalities in polyvictimization survivors of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)
“IWES continues to laud AJC’s leadership in creating a collaborative network that brings together academics and non-profit organizations focused on the need of women and girls. Such partnerships catalyze the power of research to be translated into actionable strategies that will ultimately create equity in the lives of women and girls.”
Denese Shervington MD, MPH
Updates
New IWPR Report: Girls and Young Women of Color: Where They Are in the United States
“Of the 14.1 million girls and young women of color, age 10–24, in the United States, 40.7% live in the South, 23.2% in the Pacific West, 14.9% in the Northeast, 10.4% in East North Central, 7.3% in the Mountain West, and 3.5% in West North Central.”
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