Save the date for an evening of inspiration and celebration
benefiting the YWCA’s Eastside Women’s Center!
Bellevue Rotary Dinner & Auction
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Meydenbauer Center
For more details and ticket information, please contact Corinne O’Connell at coconnell@ywcaworks.org or 206.461.4462. You can also visit the Bellevue Rotary's Web site for additional information.
About the YWCA Eastside Women's Center
Judy had looked forward to retirement. But after struggling with a chronic health problem on a small fixed income, her savings were exhausted. To save money, she shared an apartment with a friend. When the friend moved, Judy found herself with nowhere to go.
At 75 years old, Judy moved into her car.
Homelessness is not just on the streets of downtown Seattle. On the Eastside, homelessness for women, in particular, is on the rise. Unable to meet the higher costs of living, many women like Judy are living in cars, camping in parks or wooded areas, or sleeping on friends’ couches.
Fortunately, there is hope. After living in her car for three weeks, Judy found the YWCA Eastside Women’s Center (EWC). The EWC is designed to serve single homeless women in East King County. With hot meals and showers, the center meets homeless women’s immediate needs. And, through referrals to other services, the EWC seeks to ensure that the women have a warm and safe place to sleep so that they are in a position to regain stability.
The EWC is located in a temporary facility at the First Congregational Church of Bellevue. Every day, the facilities offered to women are set-up and taken-down to accommodate other church activities. With proceeds from the Bellevue Rotary Auction, the YWCA and the First Congregational Church will build a permanent center, so that women can be assured of a warm, welcoming place to come during the day.
Proceeds from the Rotary Auction will build:
• A full kitchen
• Bathrooms with hot showers
• Laundry facility
• Private office space
When Judy came to the EWC, she was given a hot meal, a shower and a motel voucher. YWCA staff also found her an apartment and affordable health care. But the EWC does more than provide for basic needs and set the course for self-sufficiency–it restores dignity.
