Women With A Vision and Good Work Network are partnering to create pathways to economic opportunity for marginalized women in the New Orleans area.  Target groups will include HIV positive women, previously incarcerated women, female victims of domestic violence, and LGBT individuals.  Individual and group craft projects and goods, including jewelry and preserves, will be produced using recycled and repurposed items. These items will be created and marketed locally in a traditional microfinance model wherein those artisans/participants are the direct recipients of the income generated.
 
New Orleans retains one of the highest poverty rates (23.4%) in the state of Louisiana, which ranks the second worst in the nation on poverty indices. Marginalized women in the target groups typically face severe financial challenges, few economic opportunities, and no safety net.  Best efforts to live on a budget and save are undermined by financial emergencies that break budgets and, in some cases force people to be at the mercy of ruthless predatory lenders.  Through investment in programs that foster life skills, self-efficacy, and financial knowledge and understanding, we hope to reduce these vulnerabilities.
 
This project provides a unique opportunity for women of color, and other target populations in New Orleans, whom have been affected by or previously engaged in the street economy.  It aims to further individual skills and personal ability/self-efficacy to generate income independently while also creating a community of peer social and economic support.  Furthermore, this will enable those persons to make empowered choices about their health, communities, and personal/economic livelihoods.