Downtown Women's Center E-Newsletter

July 2006

Welcome to the first issue of the Downtown Women's Center E-Newsletter! We are excited to bring you this brief bi-monthly update about the goings-on at DWC! As always, we invite you to visit our website, www.dwcweb.org, or our Center – located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles – for a tour or more information.

Spotlight on Programs: Finesse

Have you ever experienced an amazing coincidence - perhaps an unlikely crossing of paths with someone from a former time in your life?

Let’s say that many years ago you invested your life savings to found a center for homeless women in downtown Los Angeles, at a time when there were no services for women on Skid Row. What began as a small storefront operation grew into a comprehensive organization with both a vibrant drop-in Day Center and a Residence housing 47 women. Eventually you move on, leave Los Angeles, move to Albuquerque, New Mexico where you come to work as a Field Representative in the office of Senator Jeff Bingaman - and one day, into the office walks a new intern, a self-confident, capable woman in her early 30s named Finesse. You find out that she’s from Los Angeles, and as the two of you speak she tells you that she used to be homeless – and that it was the Downtown Women’s Center that helped her get back on her feet!

This is the true story of DWC’s founder, Jill Halverson. Meanwhile, Finesse shared her own story – one of hardship and inspiration. Finesse grew up in a poor area of Long Beach, living what she called the “hard life of a young Black female in the slums.” She was always passionate about school and church, and she especially loved reading. She graduated high school as an Honor student from Long Beach-Polytechnic, but in her early 20s, as a young mother, she was in an abusive relationship. Escaping domestic violence, she ended up homeless, sleeping in the Union Rescue Mission for emergency shelter, and on Skid Row, she learned about DWC.

She fell in love with the safe space that was only for women where she could eat meals, take a shower, nap in peace, read books and magazines, work with a Case Manager to help her strive toward goals to improve her life, and enjoy having a home and a true sense of community. Finesse befriended another DWC participant who invited her to start a life in Albuquerque. Once there, she secured her Social Security card, an apartment, and financial aid for the studies she had always hoped to pursue – at Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute. Passionate about political science, she was thrilled to meet Mayor Martin Chavez at a baseball game. She volunteered for his re-election campaign in July 2005 until she was offered a paid position. One of her proudest moments was when he thanked her publicly at his victory speech last October. Through her political science classes at Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute (where she is currently completing her fourth semester) and a recommendation from the Mayor’s office, she gained her current internship for Senator Bingaman - where she met Jill Halverson, and thanked her for creating the Downtown Women’s Center!

Spotlight on Volunteer Opportunity: The Moonlight Cooking Club

Did you know. . .

. . .Cooking Club provided 12,600 fresh and healthy plates of food in 2005?! This is close to $31,500 worth of food!

. . .Cooking Club is a great opportunity to meet new people and has a flexible time commitment?

The Moonlight Cooking Club is an opportunity to cook a meal that will be served as lunch the next day in DWC's Day Center. We provide the recipe and guidance in cooking for a crowd; you bring some of the needed ingredients for the meal and your volunteer energy. Together, you and your co-volunteers help defray the Center's food costs and provide the Ladies here with a fresh and healthy meal. No regular attendance is required - you can simply sign up for the meetings that work for your schedule. Cooking Club E-Bulletins alert you approximately one week prior to the next cooking opportunity. Cooking Club meets 2-3 times per month, usually on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday night, and always from 6:30-8:30 p.m. (perfect for those of you who work during the day). Contact Brooke Lykins, Volunteer Coordinator, at brookel@dwcweb.org, to sign up for our e-bulletin.

How You Can Help: Donate Online

Did you know that DWC now accepts online donations? Please visit our website to make a contribution through PayPal. For 28 years, we have relied on businesses, foundations, and individuals in the community for support of all of our programming! Your contribution truly makes a difference and has enabled DWC to continue offering housing, meals, and vital supportive services to a vulnerable population of homeless and formerly homeless women on Skid Row. Thank you for your support!

Donate now!

Save-the-Date: 9th Annual Fundraising Gala Hosted by Actress Jane Kaczmarek

Please save the date for DWC's 9th Annual Gala! Growing Supportive Housing: Cultivating a Foundation for Housing and Lives will be held the evening of September 25, 2006 at the Music Center at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Please join us and Jane Kaczmarek (Actress, Malcolm in the Middle, and co-Founder, the Clothes off Our Backs) as we honor those friends who are sowing the seeds of supportive housing and healthcare for homeless women in downtown Los Angeles.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa

CAP-MPT

LA Department of Water & Power Employees’ Association

Jim Donlan, Sidley Austin LLP

The evening promises to be a delightful engagement with drinks, appetizers, dinner, Silent and Live Auctions, and a Raffle! Please contact Development Director Molly Moen at mollym@dwcweb.org for ticket and sponsorship information or if you are interested in contributing auction items. We hope to see you there! Visit www.dwcweb.org/gala.html for more information and to view photos from last year’s event.