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June 22, 2001/Tamuz 1, 5761, Vol. 53, No.38
A second chance at life
Program clothes victims of domestic violence so they can return to work
LEISAH NAMM
Assistant Editor
Audrey Albert, far right, started Suited for Success to collect professional outfits for victims of domestic violence. Helping her sort donated clothing are, from left, Ginny Green, Naomi Schwartz and Florence Colby.
Photo courtesy of Audrey Albert |
Many women have at least one item of clothing - if not an array of dresses, blouses and suits - sitting in the backs of their closets that have not been worn for months or years. Audrey Albert of Sun City West is encouraging those women to give their clothes a second chance - and in the process, help other women find jobs.
Albert, a psychotherapist, began her pursuit after learning that battered women often leave their abusive husbands with only the clothes on their backs. In December, she contacted Shelter Without Walls, a program of Jewish Family and Children's Service that provides support and assistance to victims of domestic violence, to find out how she could help.
A primary goal of the program is to help the women gain self-sufficiency, says Nicola Winkel, team leader of Shelter Without Walls.
One step toward becoming self-sufficient is finding a job. However, although the program had sources that provided casual clothing, professional clothing was lacking, says Gail Parin, president and CEO of JFCS.
In response to this need, Albert founded Suited for Success in January.
She organized a clothing drive with fellow members of First Tuesdays, an outreach program of the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix.
One hundred women donated approximately 650 pieces of professional clothing - from dresses and blouses to shoes and accessories - over the next two months.
"Women helping women heals all of us and not just the people in need, but it also nurtures and enriches each woman who donates," Parin says. "That's what makes it so special."
A personal account
According to Winkel, Shelter Without Walls, launched in 1999, provided a range of services for approximately 364 women and children of all faiths last year.
Bridget Lapsley, 41, is one woman who has benefited from the program.
"When I got out of my abusive relationship with my husband, I didn't have any clothes because basically I left everything there," she says.
When she left her husband more than a year ago, Shelter Without Walls provided her with clothing and furniture and helped her find a job.
Although Suited for Success was not yet developed, Shelter Without Walls gave Lapsley vouchers for clothing through The People's Thrift Shop, run through JFCS.
"I don't even think about what I lost because of what they gave me," she says. "It was like, don't think about all that," she says. "Here's your new life, here's your new clothes. You go for it. And I did."
Lapsley has worked in phone solicitation for more than a year and says Shelter Without Walls has "turned a lot of things around" and has given her "another outlook on life."
After leaving an abusive relationship, says Parin, 62 percent of domestic violence victims "go back to their abuser because they don't have resources in the community to assist them in making that transition."
Lapsley credits Shelter Without Walls with preventing her from becoming one of those statistics.
"Where I was and where I'm at now, you'd never believe it," she says. "If it wasn't for them, there's no way I would have made it."
With the establishment of Suited for Success, People's Thrift Shop now has a separate area set aside for Shelter Without Walls clients. The women use vouchers provided by the program to purchase outfits for job interviews and work.
"We all know how much better we feel when we feel we are dressed appropriately," Albert writes in a publicity letter. "We can be a very capable person but if we go to a job interview and we are not dressed in a businesslike manner, we can be passed over for the job."
Winkel says Suited for Success has helped organize the clothing donations "by making it more centralized and a more coordinated effort."
A community effort
Parin finds that Shelter Without Walls is turning into a communitywide effort.
"We're really starting to come together as a community to really help strengthen our community through our charitable actions and I'm very proud to be part of it," she says.
She lists Project Hookup as an example. This program collects electronic household items such as TVs, VCRs and computers for donations to Shelter Without Walls clients.
Other programs include "Give Back a Smile," in which community dentists donate their services to assist individuals who have lost their teeth through domestic violence; ophthalmologists and optometrists who donate their services; and automotive consultants who provide legitimate quotes for automobile repair.
The program also works with Maricopa County Recycled Bikes for Needy Families, through which children receive used bicycles. "We want them to have as normal a life as possible," Parin explains.
"It's all about community collaboration, coming together to help these women and children transition from an abusive situation to one of economic self-sufficiency and safety," she says.
Shelter Without Walls also provides counseling, case management, transitional living support, financial assistance and mentoring.
In 1994, Albert started a program similar to Suited for Success - The Career Clothing Wardrobe program - through the ASU West Women's Resource Center.
This program collected clothing to enable older students who didn't have the means to purchase professional clothing for interviews and jobs.
Although she is no longer actively involved, the program is still running at ASU West.
Albert's other community service activities include volunteering at Del E. Webb Memorial Hospital as a co-therapist for an inpatient treatment program for depressed older adults. In addition, she will serve on the Women's Board of the federation this fall.
"If we don't back away from something and we reach out, we can do a lot of good," she says. "If we allow the unhappiness of others to touch us, we can respond."
To donate
Specify that clothing is for "Suited for Success"
For free pickup, call 602-274-3451
People's Thrift Shop
2946 N. Seventh Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85013
Store hours: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Seven days a week
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