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Mia Raven, the founder of the P.O.W.E.R. House in Montgomery and operations manager at the Yellowhammer Fund, died Thursday, following a stroke late last month.
“Alabama has lost a beloved leader for reproductive justice in the Deep South,” the Yellowhammer Fund said in a statement on Facebook Thursday. “Mia rallied and fought for her community from the frontlines as a clinic escort, to the Alabama State House for over a decade.”
The Yellowhammer Fund is an abortion advocacy and reproductive justice organization serving Alabama, Mississippi and the Deep South. The P.O.W.E.R. House, located directly next to the now-closed Reproductive Health Services building, served as a shelter during the state’s 48-hour waiting period before an abortion could be performed and is still operating as a space that provides birth control and any other services possible to women in need.
At the P.O.W.E.R. House, Raven also served as a clinic escort, shielding abortion patients from protestors outside the clinic.
“If you ever attended a reproductive rights rally in Montgomery or anywhere in Alabama, she was there helping lead the charge,” ACLU of Alabama said in a statement. “This loss leaves a void that cannot be replaced in our community. Mia was truly the fiercest advocate and activist for abortion access in Alabama. The ACLU of Alabama is greatly indebted to her work and incredible support of our staff over the last decade. She has changed the lives of countless individuals and will be deeply missed. May we honor her memory with gratitude and love.”
Friends and fellow advocates are encouraging people to support both Raven’s families and the causes she so passionately championed for years.
Before Raven’s passing, her husband James set up a gofundme to help Raven with medical bills related to the stroke and the underlying lung cancer that doctors discovered while she was in the hospital. The gofundme has raised nearly $10,000 so far and remains open. You can donate here.
To support the P.O.W.E.R. House, donate here.
