Washington

Why I voted for the Washington Middle School for Girls…

Posted on by Patricia Roland

I watched Sister Mary Bourdon begin the Washington Middle School for Girls a little over 10 years ago, first as an after school study hall with 12 girls in a basement apartment, then into a two campus school, serving almost 100 students in grades 4-8.

And when I say serving, I mean:

  • Offering them an exemplary education in core subjects;
  • An Extended Day Program from 3:30 until 5:30 p.m., featuring student clubs such as yoga, poetry, chess, photography, and arts classes with The Washington Ballet, Levine School of Music, and The Corcoran Art Gallery;
  • A summer camp that features remedial work, arts activities, field trips, and welcoming of visitors that expands their world like nothing else; and,
  • A Graduate Support Program that assists in getting their students accepted into some of the best high schools in the Washington area and beyond.

Right now, 97 percent of the Washington Middle School for Girls’ graduates are either still in high school, or have graduated and gone on to higher learning of their choice!  An incredible statistic for young girls living in the most under-served neighborhood of Washington, D.C.!

When I think about making an investment in the future, I can look no further than Washington Middle School for Girls – and I’m betting on a great future for those girls who are fortunate enough to have Sister Mary and her dedicated staff on their side!

We will all be better because of this school!  Please, vote for them today!

Patricia Roland is a donor and supporter of The Washington Middle School for Girls.

Vote against slavery: why you should vote for Polaris Project!

Posted on by Katherine Chon

“Good friend forgive me if I offend, I know I am not the only one with problems. I also understand that there are many people with greater problems than mines. But for you to take the time to consider mines, that I am most grateful. It is good that when one has climbed the ladder of success to the top, that he or she reaches down and help those that are not able to.” 
— YK

These are the opening lines of a letter I received earlier this week from a young women whose story is not unlike many of our own.  She came to Washington, DC seeking a better life with plans to get an advanced degree so that she could work with the poor and the oppressed, as she explained later in her letter.  She was excited to receive a job as a domestic worker, which would enable her to work towards her dreams.

What makes YK’s story different was that she was enslaved within the household, beaten, sexually assaulted, and prevented from leaving. 

YK is a survivor of human trafficking.

She was able to escape her situation through community support and currently is part of Polaris Project’s DC Trafficking Intervention Program (DC TIP).

Like YK, Janice* also had dreams that were exploited by a human trafficker.  When Janice was 12 years old, she should have been going to school and living the carefree life of other teenagers. However, after an older man offered to take care of her, Janice was forced into prostitution for five years and beaten each time she tried to leave.

Polaris Project was called in after a police investigation and began to provide Janice with food, clothing, and emotional support.  We also worked to reunite Janice with her family and she is enrolled in school.  Her trafficker was sentenced to prison and now Janice dreams of one day working in the criminal justice field.

While it is shocking that slavery can still exist in the 21st century, it is sobering to know that it is the third largest and fastest growing criminal industry in the world.  The United Nations recently projected that human trafficking will only worsen with the state of the global economy.  Stories like YK’s and Janice’s show us that the face of human trafficking is often very personal and local, occurring in our own backyards. 

In fact, the FBI considers Washington, DC one of the top 14 sites in the country for the sex trafficking of American children.

When we started Polaris Project seven years ago, our mission was simple: find the victims, shape policy, and build a movement.

Interestingly, we began with a $5,000 seed grant from a local social entrepreneurship program and built an organization that has worked with more than 300 victims of human trafficking; testified before Congress four times to help pass landmark federal legislation (twice!); worked with legislators in D.C., VA, and MD to strengthen protections for victims; and, co-founded the DC Task Force on Human Trafficking in partnership with the D.C. U.S. Attorneys Office and D.C. Police with more than 30 other organizational members coordinating on cases and victim services.

Imagine what another $5,000 from winning this vote can do!  Click here to vote against slavery before 5 p.m. on Monday, March 30th!

*Names and details have been changed to protect the identity and anonymity of our clients.

Katherine Chon is the President and Co-founder of Polaris Project in Washington, D.C., a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation.

Why you should vote for Calvary Women's Services!

Posted on by Kristine Thompson

Your vote can empower women to move out of homelessness

Recently, Connie, a woman who lives at Calvary Women’s Shelter, wrote the following:

“What I mostly appreciate about Calvary is that they allow you to grow, attend meetings to keep you on the right path, teach you how to be responsible with daily, everyday living such as money management…Calvary has taught me responsibility, promptness, respect for myself and others, and how to be a team player.”

Connie is one of more than 1,300 homeless women in the District of Columbia.  In the current economic crisis, that number is growing, and it does not include all of the women who are doubled up with family or sleeping on a friend’s couch.

Women like Connie often have histories of violence and trauma.  They may be unemployed or working hard at low wage jobs.  They may live with mental illnesses, addictions, or chronic health problems.  Overcoming these challenges while living on the streets or in a large shelter with over 100 other women is nearly impossible.

Calvary Women’s Shelter serves 25 women each night.  Though the women who come to Calvary face great challenges, we believe that every woman has gifts and strengths she can build on to be successful.  We meet each woman as an individual, support her as she works to achieve her goals, and empower her to take control of her own life.

Each year, 60 percent of the women who come to Calvary move into their own homes.  Many others take positive steps to prepare for independent living.

We are honored and excited that the Washington Area Women’s Foundation has recognized our work with a Leadership Award.  An additional grant of $5,000, which we can win if we get the most votes in the 2009 Leadership Awards online vote, will make a big difference.

At Calvary, $5,000 can:

  • Purchase 6 months worth of food for our dinner and breakfast programs;
  • Support 2 months of life skills education programs; or,
  • Provide 22 women with a year’s worth of mental health services.

These services make a real difference in women’s lives.

Since moving to Calvary, Connie has worked hard to overcome the reasons she became homeless, completed her GED, secured employment, and begun her search for housing.

Addressing Calvary’s supporters, she wrote: “Let’s all come together as one and continue to help women like me with a new beginning.”

Your vote will do just that.  Vote now!

Kristine Thompson is the Executive Director of Calvary Women’s Services.

Why you should vote for the Washington Middle School for Girls!

Posted on by Lisa Kays

This online voting for the Washington Middle School For Girls has been the most incredible experience.

In response to my blanket email to everyone in my address book, I am hearing from people I haven’t heard from in years.  None has been more poignant than the response from a distant cousin who was brought back to a conversation she had with her aunt when she was 10 years old.

Her aunt told her that no matter what advice anyone was to give her, the best thing she could tell her was to grow up to be a strong woman.

So, when she started looking at The Women’s Foundation and Washington Middle School for Girls‘ Web sites, her aunt’s advice all came rushing back. It was a conversation she hadn’t had in a while.

Sometimes, we forget that the work we do everyday with girls and women is not front and center with everyone.  To us, when you change the life of a girl, you change the life of a woman.

It’s that simple.

So yes, I’ve loved spreading the good news and getting people to vote for the school.  And I love the added bonus of wonderful feedback.

Vote now!

Colette Breen works in the development office at the Washington Middle School for Girls.

Resources for homeless single women-headed families don't match need.

Posted on by Heather Thompson

According to an annual survey conducted by the Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness in the District, the number of homeless people in the district has increased 3 percent over last year to 6,228.

What’s most alarming is the increase in homeless families, up nearly 25 percent, most of which are headed by single women. Serving this need is a limited number of resources that cater to women and children.

There is no turnkey solution to addressing homelessness. However, in a city where nearly one in five women is living below the poverty line, we all need to advocate for measures to aid this vulnerable population

Heather Thompson is a member of Soroptimist International of Washington DC, the local chapter of an international organization for professional women, with the aim of improving the lives of women and girls.

D.C.'s HIV/AIDS report forgets women, but I haven't.

Posted on by Gwen Rubinstein

Inspired – and alarmed – by my colleague Lisa Kays’s blog post earlier this week about off-the-charts HIV/AIDS rates in the District of Columbia, I read the Department of Health’s recent report.

The report is powerful for what it includes – and what it doesn’t.

What it does include: voluminous statistics about the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the District, including trends, clinical indicators, geography and its effects on several “selected subpopulations.”

What it does not include: any real or sustained focus on women or illumination of the differences in the disease between women and men and the related implications for prevention and treatment.

For example:

  • While more men are living with HIV/AIDS in the District, women still make up more than one-quarter of those infected. In addition, between 2003 and 2007, women’s share of new HIV/AIDS cases increased (from 28.9 percent to 30.1 percent), while men’s share decreased.
  • While sex is the main mode of transmission for both men and women, women’s infection is driven much more significantly by injection drug use. Among people living with HIV/AIDS in the District, injection drug use was the mode of transmission for more than one-third of the women (35 percent) but less than one-fifth (19.2 percent) for men.
  • HIV/AIDS among women in DC is almost totally an epidemic of people of color. Nearly all of the women living with HIV/AIDS here (94.2 percent) are African-American or Latina, compared to three-quarters (76.5 percent) of men.

The report does not contain a dedicated section focusing specifically on women, despite more than 4,000 women (adults and adolescents) living with HIV in the city in 2007. “Special populations” with about the same or (even) fewer members do have their own sections.

Other notable oversights:

  • The report avoids discussing the potential role of incarceration in the spread of HIV in the District, including among women. One study, for example, exploring such a link, concluded that higher incarceration rates among black men explained the lion’s share of the racial disparity in HIV/AIDS infection between black women and women of other racial and ethnic groups (based on data from 1980 to 1996). Notably, the District has the highest black-to-white ratio of incarceration of any state in the country, according to The Sentencing Project.
  • While the report touts syringe exchange, condom distribution, HIV/AIDS testing and its AIDS drug assistance programs as effective responses to the epidemic, it does not discuss other needed interventions. A shortage of community-based addiction treatment (waiting lists are common) and other basic health services and the financial and other challenges facing local AIDS-service organizations (such as Whitman-Walker Clinic) undoubtedly hamper access both to prevention and treatment for all DC residents, including women.

Please add my voice to those calling for immediate response to this public health emergency – and don’t forget the women.

Gwen Rubinstein is a Program Officer at The Women’s Foundation.

Almost half of Boston teens blame Rihanna, not Chris, for her attack.

Posted on by Lisa Kays

As a follow-on to my colleague Gwen’s thoughtful post on the Rihanna domestic violence situation and the way it’s being handled in the media, I thought I’d throw in this piece from Feministing, about the reactions of some Boston teens to the story.

Sadly, it would appear that almost half of those Boston teens surveyed blame Rihanna for the attack.  More than half felt that both parties were equally responsible for the attack.

Jessica at Feministing sums it up well, saying, "Ah, victim-blaming. It’s always with us. What particularly depresses me about this statistic is that the victim-blaming is coming from young people. There’s this optimistic part of me that likes to believe sexist attitudes and hating women will lessen with new generations. Articles like these snap me back into reality."

Then there is Gwen, saying, "And just once, I would like to read a story that focused on how men have the power to stop this violence."

This wish seems particularly poingnant given what these surveys revealed about how young people view violence against women. 

And, in my opinion, helping further draw the connection that how domestic violence and women’s issues are portrayed in the media do get reflected back to us in the voices and actions of our young people.

As a silver lining, there are some amazing groups doing work to combat these perceptions and domestic violence itself, as well as to advocate for victims (rather than blame them).  Many of these groups are our Grantee Partners, and a few are 2009 Leadership Awardees. 

As of tomorrow, check back to our site to vote for your favorite Leadership Awardee, help them earn an extra $5,000 to fuel their work, and raise your voice for productive solutions and better, healthier, safer communities for women and girls.

Lisa Kays is The Women’s Foundation’s Director of Communications.

What's scarier than the economy? Try latest on D.C.'s HIV/AIDS rates.

Posted on by Lisa Kays

Well, so much for a break from the doom and gloom.  The latest update on the status of HIV/AIDS in Washington, D.C. is in and the news is not good.

The District now has a rate of 3 percent of its residents who are HIV-positive, a rate that surpasses that in West Africa and means that The District has surpassed the criteria for a "generalized and severe epidemic." 

African-American women represent nearly a quarter of HIV cases in D.C.  African-American men continue to bear the brunt of the statistics though.  An astonishing 7 percent of black men in D.C. are HIV-positive.

Aaron Morrissey of the DCist had this to say about the District’s reaction and plan to address this deepening crisis, "Certainly, it’s sobering to think about why it took the District until 2005 to start to really ramp up HIV/AIDS preventative services — and considering that timeline, origins for these massive figures start to become clearer. But if there is a bright side to this story, it is that D.C. has been steadily improving in the four years since…But even as such strides are taken, the battle cry has barely changed: in order to fight these incredible figures, there must be a steady maintenance of ‘determination and commitment from the District’s public officials.’ Anything less would be doubly as frustrating."

DC Appleseed, a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation, was quoted in The Washington Post piece and their report card, HIV in the Nation’s Capital, was referenced in the DCist blog.

Just as the economic crisis has served as a tremendous call to action to rethink business as usual and refocus the nation’s economic priorities, we can only hope that these latest findings on a critical health issue for the District will spur action to find sustainable, effective strategies to prevent the further spread of this epidemic and care to treat those who are already affected.

Lisa Kays is The Women’s Foundation’s Director of Communications.

Announcing the 2009 Leadership Awardees!

Posted on by WAWF

What do you get when you combine 58 volunteers, 66 nominations, 54 phone calls, 33 site visits, 20 presentations and hours of deliberation and due diligence?

You get the 2009 Leadership Awardees, of course!

Someone really wise once said, if you want to know how something began, look at how it ended.  As I reflect on that statement, and my experience with the Leadership Awards, I am still undecided about whether or not I agree.

As I was recruiting volunteers for the Leadership Awards this year, I blogged about my experience at the Leadership Awards Reception in March 2008.  The reception, that year’s “ending,” did indeed tell me a lot about the Leadership Awards Program – the inspiration, the passion, the dedication, the diligence of these organizations working so hard on behalf of women and girls.

That said, even as I stood in awe of those eight recipients, there was no way of knowing what an amazing journey it would be to the selection of the 2009 Leadership Awardees!

Among the recipients, we have representation from all over the Washington metropolitan area, including Northern Virginia, Montgomery County, Prince George’s County and Washington, DC.  All are doing innovative, effective work on behalf of women and girls in our region in the area of safety and health.

We have organizations working with youth, and organizations working with the elderly. 

We have organizations providing basic needs of shelter to victims of domestic violence, and those helping survivors of domestic violence get a second chance in life by find new and sustainable careers.

We have an organization providing activities and infrastructure to girls during the after-school hours when they are most vulnerable, and an organization providing transitional housing for female ex-offenders.

So, who are these 10 exciting, inspiring organizations, you ask.  Click here to see the press release announcing the recipients!

As I sit in anticipation of what my second Leadership Awards reception experience will be like, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the tremendous job done by our outstanding volunteers this year in making this extremely difficult selection.

Because the reality is, while we can only give 10 awards this year, there are many wonderful organizations doing really important work in our community on behalf of women and girls.

So, please join me in congratulating our stellar slate of 2009 Leadership Awardees. 

And stay tuned for our second annual online vote to help your favorite awardee receive an additional $5,000!

Nicole Cozier is The Women’s Foundation’s Philanthropic Education Officer.

A young woman's take on a new America…

Posted on by Tia Felton

Since the presidential election all you see is change and more change. The nation has had an urgent need for change because of our new president, Barack Obama. You can really see change in people’s attitudes around the country and how they portray themselves as Americans. 

People are now actually proud to be American, a label that some have been ashamed to wear.  Now, that country that was one laughed upon as being selfish, spoiled and very overweight is the same country now pushing those selfish ways aside and making a change for the greater good.

I, too, felt proud to be an American for the first time. 

For most of my life, American has simply been the country were I was born; but there have been no real feeling behind it for me.  Yet, while I was watching the inauguration on television that day, there was a smile on my face the entire time and I didn’t realize it. 

To watch something that people have only joked about for years actually happen in front of your face is wonderful.

I have seen houses throughout the Washington area decorated in red white and blue, something you wouldn’t even see here on the Fourth of July. 

On January 20, 2009, the whole country celebrated.  In fact, other countries even celebrated with us.

It was a truly joyful moment for all.  I still can’t tell you exactly what it means to be an American, but I can tell you that right now, being one feels very good.

Tia Felton is a senior at McKinley Tech High School and an intern at The Women’s Foundation through Urban Alliance. When she graduates from high school this year, she will go to college to study political science and hopes to eventually to become a lawyer.

To learn more about the Urban Alliance internship program, click here.