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“Thank you for being.”

Wednesday, 25 November 2009 16:17

This expression is one that has gained prominence in recent years, and it is an expression that I find relevant to working with the residents of Jubilee Women’s Center. 

We live in a culture that places significant emphasis and value upon personal accomplishment.  But when a woman finds herself homeless, when she finds herself unable to earn adequate income or sustain sufficient employment, unable to maintain family and support networks, unable to sustain the life that she has always dreamed of, she can enter a place of intense self-condemnation. Statements of self-negation are plentiful in these moments as women can perceive homelessness and residing in transitional housing as a badge of failure and worthlessness.

I believe that there is nothing more punishing to the human spirit than self-negation, and there is nothing more heartbreaking than to watch someone that you care for and believe in pummel herself with punishing self-criticism that does not allow her the capacity to see her amazing resilience, her inner fire and beauty, her exceptional skills, savvy, and strength, her brilliant courage, her innate power, and most importantly, her gift of self.  It is my deep wish that in this holiday season, each woman who comes through the doors of Jubilee Women’s Center--be it a new program applicant, a current resident, a volunteer, donor, staff or community member--recognizes the gift that she is just by being who she is.

Dannette Allen
Care Manager