Downtown Women’s Center is celebrating Women’s History Month in March by launching a campaign to raise $80,000 to support women who are unhoused in Los Angeles County. Your generous gift will make double the impact, thanks to the $35,000 matching gift Beyond Yoga and CarPros is providing in honor of Women’s History Month. This campaign invites you to appreciate inspirational women who you love and/or have touched your lives by giving back to women experiencing homelessness.

The fact is that there are thousands of people in our county who have no home at all – they live outside, or take refuge in a limited number of shelters. Los Angeles County has over 65,000 people living unhoused each night. 40% of them are women – these are our sisters, mothers, and neighbors, our aunts, grandmothers, and friends. During Women’s History Month, we remember these women and seek solutions by investing in what we know works: permanent supportive housing for women experiencing homelessness.

Homelessness can happen to anyone, and it does.

Your generous contribution to the Downtown Women’s Center (DWC) in the past has helped women by providing them with the safety and care they deserve. Women, like Tyana, who recently graduated from DWC’s transitional job program, LA:RISE.

Tyana found herself facing homelessness in the middle of the pandemic. She lost her source of income, depleted her savings, and was couch surfing with family and friends. She ended up living with a cousin who was emotionally and physically abusive.

When Tyana sought a restraining order, her case was disregarded, because it wasn’t a traditional experience of domestic violence. She filed nine complaints before her case was taken seriously. Tyana endured an incredibly challenging situation that left her physically and emotionally scarred. Eventually, she left her housing situation and found her way to safety.

Tyana was referred to the Downtown Women’s Center where she was able to connect with a case manager to help place her and her disabled mother in housing. When I asked Tyana what DWC meant to her, she shared:

“DWC has allowed me to be my full self and recover from my trauma and PTSD. I really appreciate receiving women-centric services, because it helps me to feel empowered to pursue my dreams and housing for my disabled mother and myself. Without DWC’s transitional job program, I wouldn’t have gotten back on my feet. DWC has allowed me to heal from the trauma I experienced in my life. I didn’t experience any judgement. I was able to thrive here.”

Your gift helps create this safe environment for women like Tyana. When you give, you help support women on their path back to stability.

When I asked Tyana why donors should give to DWC, she shared: “When donors give, it’s like you’re sowing good soil. DWC helps women like me succeed. The housing that’s available here is so meaningful to the women who live here. There’s always a need to support the Downtown Women’s Center.”

Learn more at www.DowntownWomensCenter.org.