The waiting list for Marah’s Permanent Housing Program will open at 9:00am on Monday, November 24 2008. To be eligible for a unit, an applicant must be: over age 18, female, without children in her immediate care, homeless at the time of entry, and with a disability. The application is available here, or may be picked up onsite Monday-Friday 9am-5pm, mailed, emailed, or faxed upon request. For information about the program, call 773.348.9011.

Help make the holidays a little brighter for Deborah’s Place women by donating one of the items on the Holiday Wish List.

Remember to bring all donations to 2822 W Jackson by December 15th, 2008. 

Questions? Elizabeth Golden: 773-638-6539, egolden@deborahsplace.org

Special Ways of Giving to Deborah’s Place

Make a difference NOW with a special gift to Deborah’s Place!

With soaring food and gas prices, coupled with a lack of affordable housing, Deborah’s Place needs your help more than ever! City, state and county budget cuts have drastically reduced essential services to people who are homeless in the city of Chicago.

At this time, all of Deborah’s Place permanent and interim housing have waiting lists of at least a year and we anticipate that demand for housing will increase in 2009.

In addition, over the past year, Deborah’s Place has seen a dramatic rise in the number of women living on the street who are dropping in at our Learning Centers to access supportive services. As a result of this increased demand for services, Deborah’s Place is in need of additional support. As a Deborah’s Place friend your special donation could pay for the following:

___$25 covers a woman’s food expenses for a month

___$50 pays for breakfast at the Safe Haven for one week

___$100 pays for a week’s worth of gas for the Deborah’s Place food service delivery van

___$500 pays for the Rebecca Johnson Food pantry expenses (90 women) for one month

___$1000 pays a week’s worth of housing expenses (rent, utilities and food) for 30 women at Marah’s

If you can make even a small donation to offset our increased expenses, it would mean all the difference for women who are homeless. Please help us to provide these essential services for women in need. Thank you!

Donate now!

Announcing Joanna Rupp Staff Tribute Challenge Gift

Deborah’s Place is pleased to announce The Joanna Rupp Staff Tribute Challenge Gift.  Joanna’s challenge gift is toward a goal of $160,000 which will support the operations and services of Deborah’s Place 1530-1532 N. Sedgwick building that houses Dolores’ Safe Haven, Teresah’s Interim Housing Program, and the Patty Crowley Apartments.  Eighty-eight women call this building their home and another 30-35 women who are homeless or in off-site housing use the education, employment and health services at this building.

In appreciation of Joanna’s years of board service and stellar leadership as president, the Deborah’s Place board will match Joanna’s gift, bringing the starting challenge to $60,000!

For more information or to join Joanna’s Challenge Gift, please contact Elizabeth Golden.

Calling All Athletes!

Get your athletic shoes laced up and get ready to run or bike on behalf of Deborah’s Place! To support Deborah’s Place during any of your upcoming athletic endeavors or to find out how to make your athletic event a fundraiser for Deborah’s Place, please contact External Relations Coordinator Rebecca Milbert.

Home to many programs that provide services to the needy such as the Chicago Lights program, the Chicago Avenue Community Garden, and a great support of Deborah’s Place, the Fourth Presbyterian Church sits as a hub of worship and charity on Chicago’s famous magnificent mile. Several members of Chicago’s Fourth Presbyterian Church currently volunteer at Deborah’s Place through their service on commissions, and by serving meals to our programs.

 In November 2007, we opened On-Site Mini Clinics. As a component of our Health Services program, these clinics will help women improve their health and reduce health crises that require costly emergency room visits. The mini clinics are staffed through partnerships with 4th Presbyterian Church of Chicago’s Center for Whole Health.

Most recently, the Fourth Presbyterian Church showed their support of Deborah’s Place by sponsoring a table at our gala on May 30. Deborah’s Place would like to thank Chicago’s Fourth Presbyterian Church for their continued partnership and assistance in our efforts to break the cycle of homelessness for women in Chicago.

Volunteer Spotlight: Midwest Brain Injury Clubhouse

In April of 2008, Deborah’s Place was contacted by The Midwest Brain Injury Clubhouse, as they were looking for an opportunity to volunteer at another area organization. Located in Chicago’s River North area, The Midwest Brain Injury Clubhouse is a community based day program that provides life long and long term support for individuals with acquired brain injury. The mission of the Clubhouse is to work together to develop and grow to lead productive and fulfilling lives in our homes and in our community.

A group of participants from The Clubhouse started helping out with meal preparation, meal service and cleanup at Dolores’ Safe Haven at the end of April. While the assistance that the group provides is immeasurable to our Safe Haven ladies and staff, Deborah Geisler, the Clubhouse’s Executive Director has said that the experience has meant a whole lot to their participants as well. “Our members often feel like they are always the ones in need. It is such a wonderful feeling for them to know that they too are needed”, says Geisler.

Deborah’s Place is proud to support the work and mission of the Clubhouse and are grateful for the assistance that they provide to the women we serve through our volunteer partnership.

In Brief

Mary Benedetto Says Goodbye to the Safe Haven

As of July 1st, our beloved Mary Benedetto will be transitioning out of Dolores’ Safe Haven as the Program Administrator. Mary’s 10 years at Deborah’s Place have been filled with so much laughter, hard work, and progress. Through the work that she has done to create a sense of community, her legacy will continue at the Safe Haven.

With her usual modesty, Mary insists that she would not have been able to do such good work without the “collaborative effort with the ladies and the Dolores’ staff”. Mary will remain closely connected to Deborah’s Place by working part-time as a case manager at the Rebecca Johnson Apartments. While we wish that we could keep her forever at the Safe Haven, Deborah’s Place is grateful to have Mary Benedetto continue as part of our team.

Thank-Yous and Welcomes

Deborah’s Place says thank you to outgoing board members; Joanna Rupp, Tracy Gainer and Dorothy Yancy. They will continue to be involved in the work of Deborah’s Place and we are grateful for their years of board service.

Deborah’s Place welcomes Gail Russell to the board of Deborah’s Place. Gail is the former Executive Director of Sarah’s Circle, an agency, like Deborah’s Place serving women who are homeless. Gail is also active in her church, Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church and is a member of Chicago Women in Philanthropy.

Message from Outgoing Deborah’s Place Board President - Joanna Rupp

Dear Friends,

I would like to share with you one of the insights that I have gained through my experience with Deborah’s Place. I have always known that I was fortunate, but I did not ever fully comprehend the extent of my blessings and how much I take for granted, until I began working with Deborah’s Place. Every day. I assume that my good physical and mental health will continue, that I will have a home, a job and family and friends to help me through the rough patches.

One of the most striking things about the women of Deborah’s Place is how little many of them can take for granted. For many, none of these things are certain, and they have literally no infrastructure on which to rely. Deborah’s Place becomes that thing which is certain, the home to which they can go and the people on which they can rely. Each of us (as human beings) deserves to be able to take something for granted.

I have also learned that there is something else that I cannot take for granted and that is Deborah’s Place’s role in providing essential services to this vulnerable population. The organization cannot do it without the support of each and every one of us. Together, I hope that we can provide the women of Deborah’s Place with the peace of mind that comes from knowing that they have something on which they can rely!

Best wishes for Deborah’s Place and the women served!

 Joanna

2008 Gala Makes History!

Friday, May 30, 2008–The 2008 Gala was the highest grossing gala in the history of Deborah’s Place! The gala grossed over $191,000 this year and exceeded revenue expectations. Thanks to our wonderful supporters and auctioneer Jeff Brown, the live auction raised over $28,000 and the gala paddle raise brought in a whopping $45,000 for Deborah’s Place programs and operations! Ticket sales, corporate sponsorship and contributions generated over $85,000. Thank you to everyone who attended and supported this year’s gala!

The International Ballroom at the Fairmont Hotel was a bustle with friends and supporters of Deborah’s Place, as we hosted our 14th Annual Gala. Guests were treated to musical entertainment from Stephanie Browning and the JP5, a delicious steak dinner and an exciting live auction. Kathy Brock, the evening news anchor on ABC-7 was a gracious emcee and she spoke eloquently of her personal connections to Deborah’s Place and the women we serve.

Janet Krehbiel-Pieracci was presented with the 2008 Patty Crowley Award. Janet served twelve years as a board member, and served two terms as board president. Janet continues her support of Deborah’s Place through chairing the President’s Circle , former board members who have committed to fundraising for the organization.  Janet and her husband Harry are also Partners in Hope, the multi-year giving community of Deborah’s Place.
(pictured above: Executive Director Audrey Thomas and Janet Krehbiel-Pieracci)

The Deborah’s Place Diva’s were honored with the 2008 Renewal of Spirit Award, given to a Deborah’s Place participant or participants who make a significant contribution to furthering the mission of Deborah’s Place. Five Divas attended the event and accepted the award for efforts to welcome new tenants to the Deborah’s Place apartments. The Divas spoke about their belief that it is their responsibility to give back in appreciation for the help that they have received.
(pictured above: The Deborah’s Place Divas)

Auctioneer Jeff Brown of Ace Auctioneers captivated the audience with an exciting live auction and paddle raise at the conclusion of the awards presentation. Some live auction packages included a Chef for a Day package with Moto’s Homaro Cantu of Iron Chef America fame, tickets to the Bears vs. New Orleans’ Saints game, and two different sailing packages-just to name a few.

The evening concluded with the highly anticipated raffle drawing for VIP Oprah tickets, courtesy of Kim Cole (Deborah’s Place board Vice President), Diamond Bank and Nate Berkus of The Oprah Show.

Deborah’s Place would like to thank all of our gala contributors. Through your attendance and support, our Fourteenth Annual gala was an overwhelming success. A special thank you for all the hard work from our Gala Committee, especially co-chairs Coral Cawthorn-Zake and Margaret Douglas. Thank you also to our presenting sponsor, The Northern Trust Company.
(pictured above: Board Members Kim Cole, Margaret Douglas, and Coral Cawthorn-Zake)

Other sponsors-

Platinum: The Northern Trust Company
Gold Sponsors: Diamond Bank, Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation
Silver Sponsors: Applegate & Thorne-Thompson, P.C., Fifth Third Bank, ING Investment Management, Members United Corporate Federal Credit Union, The Plexus Groupe with ING and Guardian Insurance Company, The Private Bank
Bronze Sponsors: Beatrice and Leo Koonman, Perry Development Group, The Margot and Thomas Pritzker Family Foundation

Dear Deborah’s Place,

It’s me, Irene. I am writing to give you a short update on how I am doing. I couldn’t be better. Well, I could always be better (think lotto winner) but I’m still moving forward and that’s what counts. I still have my hopes for a small cottage business of handcrafted items to sell at the arts and crafts fair markets.

Remember when I was trying to teach myself to quilt? There were patterns and colors and instructions flying through my brain! When I found a quilting class, Deborah’s Place was there with a grant from the Scholarship Fund. It was not only enough to cover the class but the materials I needed as well. Suddenly, all those patterns and colors made sense!

Not long ago, I found a four week weaving class. Again, Deborah’s Place was there with a scholarship that covered the class and enough to buy a small table top loom. The weaving instructor told me that she could see how much I like weaving and how much I wanted to learn more. On the last night of the class, she offered me an internship at her weaving school in exchange for some help. She couldn’t pay anyone and I couldn’t afford the additional classes. Everybody wins!

When I looked up the word blessed, one definition is “enjoying great happiness”. I am enjoying great happiness. Thank you. Now, on to find a new Singer sewing machine!

Irene Cabello is one of the women who benefits from the use of the Deborah’s Place Scholarship Fund. Women can receive small grants for a variety of education activities. Irene is also a WCI artisan and a leader in the Consumer Commission of the Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness.

Participants Go on Retreat in Wisconsin

Recently participants from Deborah’s Place were offered a unique opportunity to take a break from their normal routines by traveling over 200 miles to The Bridge Between Retreat Center, a retreat ministry rooted in Sinsinawa Dominican tradition in Denmark, WI. This tranquil and rustic retreat center run by Sr. Caroline Sullivan and friends instantly welcomed us with warm smiles, open arms, and a resounding, “Welcome home!” With open fields and a strong spring wind at our backs, eyes turned to The Granary and The Silo, the old weathered farm buildings that stood before us where we would be sleeping, eating, sharing, and reflecting together over the days to come.

We quickly claimed our beds, dropped off our luggage, and headed to the Belgian Cathedral, an 1890 barn, to meet the llamas, the chickens, a few of the cats, and to get a head start on the chores we would be a part of, as we were now members of The Bridge Community. Within minutes, the llamas were eating out of our hands and gently stretching their necks to get just inches from our faces in search of the scent of our breath, as that is how they identify people. Beautiful large eggs were collected from the chickens and would serve as part of our future meals on the farm. Cats crawled down from stacks of hay to say hello and welcome us by gently nudging our legs in search of attention.

Soon we headed off to dinner at the farm house where we were welcomed to a table full of organic, locally grown food provided by Sr. Caroline and friends. Together we passed plates, served one another, and shared who we are, where we come from, and our first impressions of this quiet nature filled place. Some of us were eager to be in the tranquil nature setting surrounding us, as it was familiar to past experiences, yet others remained quietly subdued, absorbing their very first experience of being outside of Chicago or similar urban areas. Around the table, we learned more about the activities we would engage in over the weekend, the friends who helped make this retreat opportunity possible for us - from private donations to friends of The Bridge who baked us muffins and picked up the “special guest” Edwina Gately from the airport.

As evening fell, we gathered in The Granary around the wood stove to hear the story of Edwina Gately, founder of Genesis House in Chicago, a recovery center for prostitutes. Edwina shared stories of women she worked with in Chicago and how she came to understand this was the work she was called to do with her life despite not having any experience in working with this population. She became the woman who not only went out on the streets of Chicago to speak with prostitutes, she taught them that they were beautiful women, full of talent, potential, value, and worth - contrary to what they may had been told throughout their life or how they were treated by others, even society at large. With her compassionate and supportive outreach, the women she worked with were able to begin to shift their perspectives of themselves and then make different decision in their own lives, leading them to take positive action in creating the lives they dream of for themselves.

Sr. Caroline shared her story of how growing up she was never expected to amount to much of anything and so she lived up to that low standard, but only for a while. Her story communicated to all of us, that no matter how much darkness and murkiness we may have within us from life experiences we encountered or how we have been treated by others in the past, all of us are beautiful and unique in our own way, just like lovely lotus flowers waiting to unfold into the fullest blossoms.

The weekend continued with more delicious and wholesome meals enjoyed, more laughter shared, and a greater sense of community creating through our experiences of reflecting on our own lives. Overall, our trip to The Bridge-Between provided an opportunity to be contemplative about our relationships with ourselves, with others in our lives, and even the world. The simplicity of the programs presented offered everyone the opportunity to study and reflect on who they are as individuals and what intentions they hold to create the desired lives they wish to lead as we continue on our journey of growth into the future.
 

Dear Friends,

Welcome to our first e-newsletter! We hope that you take the time to read about the great things happening at Deborah’s Place.

We ended our fiscal year on a high note with our annual Gala celebration. More than 300 people came out to enjoy an evening of food, fellowship and fundraising. We were, once again, overwhelmed by the generosity and support that made the event a success.

We have much to celebrate. Some of our achievements for FY’08 include:

• Serving almost 400 women, 10% more women than the previous year
• Assisting 90 women to improve their housing status
• Housing retention rate was 97%
• 0 evictions
• Receiving a MetLife Foundation award for excellence in Supportive Housing
• Expanding our housing resources through the Rental Housing Support Program
• Expanding our health services through on-site mini-clinics

Our talented and committed volunteers logged more than 6000 hours of service in meal preparation, tutoring, gardening, cleaning, stuffing envelopes, event planning, governing and pro-bono work.

We are looking forward to FY’09 and having an even greater impact on breaking the cycle of homelessness for women in our city by helping women achieve their goals of permanent housing, sustainable income and greater self-sufficiency.

One of the ways that we hope to increase our impact is by maximizing our resources and making full use of our technology resources. We appreciate your comments and feedback to efforts such as this e-newsletter.

We depend on you, or friends and supporters. Without you, the work could not be done. Thank you.
Gratefully,

Audrey Thomas
Executive Director

Neighborhood Benefits From RJA Tenant Initiative

Monday, July 21st 2008 at 9:00 a.m., 2nd Ward Alderman Robert Fioretti and tenants of the Rebecca Johnson Apartments cut the ribbon for a new bus shelter located near 2822 W. Jackson Blvd.

The Apartments, owned and operated by Deborah’s Place, are home to 90 women who are formerly homeless. This bus shelter serves as a source of comfort and security for tenants, staff and community. It also represents a victory for the tenants at RJA who met with Alderman Fioretti last year and requested the bus shelter.

The morning included an official ribbon cutting as well as a coffee hour where Alderman Fioretti had the opportunity to talk with tenants and staff about the process of obtaining the bus shelter as well as other issues and concerns that impact the community. The Alderman expressed his support and willingness to continue to work with the tenants to make the neighborhood a great place to live.

Deborah’s Place thanks Alderman Fioretti and his hard working staff for our new bus shelter.

WomanCraft, Heartland Alliance and Deborah’s Place are pleased to announce that on July 1, 2008, WomanCraft, Chicago’s premiere hand-crafted paper social enterprise will come under the banner of Heartland Human Care Services.

WomanCraft, an eco-friendly and fair trade social enterprise in the North Lawndale neighborhood produces handmade, recycled paper products including wedding invitations and other special event items, notecards, stationery and gifts. WomanCraft is a winner of Mayor Richard Daley’s GreenWorks award for environmentally responsible products.

WomanCraft was founded in 1998 by Deborah’s Place to provide employment opportunities for the women it serves. Deborah’s Place, an organization that is breaking the cycle of homelessness for women in Chicago, will continue to focus on providing award-winning core residential and supportive services, utilizing innovative harm reduction and recovery models. These core services provide much-needed resources for women to obtain and maintain permanent housing, sustainable income and greater self-determination.

“Deborah’s Place is pleased that WomanCraft will continue to grow with the leadership and support of Heartland Alliance. Becoming part of Heartland Alliance means that WomanCraft can easily expand into transitional workplace training and capitalize on the phenomenal nation-wide growth it has recently enjoyed,” said Audrey Thomas, Executive Director of Deborah’s Place.

“WomanCraft helps Heartland further expand its reach and impact on people living in poverty. We warmly welcome WomanCraft’s strong entrepreneurial spirit and its nationally recognized product,” said Joe Antolin, Executive Director of Heartland Human Care Services, Inc.

Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights champions the human rights and improves the lives of men, women and children who are threatened by poverty or danger. For more than 100 years, the organization has been providing solutions - both through services and policy - that move individuals from crisis to stability and on to success. Heartland Alliance’s work in housing, health care, legal protections and economic security serves more than 100,000 people annually, helping them improve their lives.

As a program of Heartland Human Care Services, WomanCraft will expand services to include Transitional Jobs participants from a variety of Heartland Alliance programs. Heartland Alliance is the host agency of the National Transitional Jobs Network and provides a wide range of workforce development services.

“WomanCraft has provided supportive, permanent employment to our artisans for nearly a decade, and we are eager to add Transitional Jobs participants to our team. We look forward to increasing our scope of service,” said Nancy Phillips, WomanCraft’s General Manager.

WomanCraft will also expand its reach in the invitation market, serving more customers who are interested in socially-responsible and eco-friendly event planning. In the last two years, WomanCraft has experienced dramatic national growth in ‘green’ wedding invitations, and now nearly 75% of its special orders come from out-of-state.

For more information about WomanCraft, please visit www.womancraft.net. For more information on Heartland Human Care Services or Heartland Alliance, please visit www.heartlandalliance.org. Visit Deborah’s Place at www.deborahsplace.org.

In-kind gifts:

Thank you to…

• Margy Matthews, Marguerite Delacoma, Betty Servatius, and Jane Lasso for holding their annual gift-giving party. Thanks to all of the attendees who gave gifts as well.
• Pam McBride, Dee Scott, and their guests at their annual holiday gift party.
• Kate Antosz and Essential Bodywear for providing bras and an all-day bra-fitting for the women of Deborah’s Place.
• All the donors from the Residences of 41 East 8th Street for the annual gift drive where they gathered several bags full of scarves, hats, gloves, gift cards, and bath robes.
• Prudential Preferred Properties for their holiday gifts.

Monetary donations:

Thank you for all of the 350+ monetary donations we received for the holiday season. Your gifts made the women’s holidays a bit brighter this year!