Alex Coolman
You can get any kind of shoe you want at Women Helping Women -- as long
as the kind you want is sensible.
The Costa Mesa nonprofit group helps women put together a professional
look after they've been in difficult situations -- abusive relationships,
substance abuse habits, welfare or jail.
Part of getting the image right, say the women who run the organization,
is learning what exactly it means to look confident, poised and polished
after a long time of looking down and out.
Shoes -- smart, conservative designs with low heels -- are part of it.
What's more difficult, said Stella Gerk, the group's executive director,
is rediscovering the internal sense of strength that situations like
abusive relationships can destroy.
"Some of our women coming in are really intimidated," Gerk said.
"Especially if they're single mothers, they're not really thinking about
themselves at all. And many of them never have."
Women Helping Women was formed by three women in 1995 because of a need
its founders perceived for providing basic professional clothing to women
escaping from domestic abuse situations.
Many times, explained Roberta Kanter-Stein, chairwoman of the group's
board of directors and one of its original founders, women will leave
their homes so suddenly that they are forced to start their lives over
with almost nothing.
Originally, the group's sole aim was to provide the clothing that would
help with that difficult transition.
Today, Women Helping Women has expanded the range of services it offers,
providing job skill training, counseling and other opportunities to women
who need help. It has also broadened its reach, so that it now offers
assistance to "disenfranchised" women from many different backgrounds.
Kanter-Stein said the group serves between 150 and 200 women each month.
One of those women, two months ago, was a sandy-haired Orange County
resident named Christine.
When she was referred to the group after a bad domestic situation, she
said, she didn't know what to expect. But the experience of working with
the group has been a positive one for Christine, who said she has just
landed a job with an architectural firm.
"They really reinforced the fact that my life mattered," she said.
Kanter-Stein said many of the women who are involved on an organizational
level with the group understand the need for this kind of affirmation.
They were there once, too.
FYI
Women Helping Women is at 711 W. 17th St., Suite A-10, Costa Mesa. For
more information, call (949) 631-2333.
