ABSTRACT
The welfare, health care, and community recreation systems enforced and perpetuated stereotypical notions of welfare recipients as intentionally abusing the system, being undeserving and lazy, and needing institutional surveillance. The process of meeting as the Research Team, and being guided by a feminist action research framework, has also given rise to important policy implications of this project. Women Organizing Activities for Women (WOAW) is an example of the ways that working in non-traditional sites for health promotion can have important health benefits for a marginalized population. The author argues that the health equity field inadequately represented women's experiences in conceptual and methodological frameworks. Human social needs must take precedence over demands to maximize individual consumption and economic efficiency. The values of human social and material emancipation must take its place, extending dignity to all.
