They help homeless women find jobs and hope, and want to help their children

Breanna Rae White was 12 when she first experienced being uprooted.

Her mother packed her up one day and left San Jose after escaping a violent relationship, and mom and daughter eventually ended up in the St. John’s shelter in Sacramento.

It was during that time that White’s mother discovered Women’s Empowerment, a then-new nonprofit organization aimed at helping abused, addicted and homeless women find employment and improve their lives,

It was that same program 18 years later that White turned to when she found herself in a similar situation.

“I had left a domestic violence relationship, and when I fled that relationship ... I lost my job as a restaurant manager,” she recalled. “Then I lost my car, and was living in the van that I had at the time.

“But then I lost the van… and mentally the PTSD I was dealing with from the relationship was preventing me from really being able to feel stable, let alone find something stable.”

After sending her 10-year-old daughter to live with relatives in Idaho, she began experiencing depression so deep, she says, that she wasn’t sure how to dig her way out.

That’s when she came across a posting on social media for Women’s Empowerment.

Tucked away on North A Street in north Sacramento, the program operates out of a brick building that has the feel of a tiny school campus. It is seeking $3,000 from Book of Dreams to acquire diapers, toys and other supplies for the child care center that cares for the kids of women who enroll in Women’s Empowerment’s intensive, nine-week program.

Visitors entering the facility immediately hear laughter coming from the child care center. Bagels and cream cheese are offered with a “Take One!” sign marked with hand-drawn happy faces.

The center, which to date has assisted more than 1,500 women and 3,500 children, takes a holistic approach in its main goal of preparing its clients for the work world. Participants learn skills such as cover letter writing, résumé creation, and how to handle an interview.

It also provides onsite child care for those who are taking part and offers a filled-to-the-brim clothes closet for interviews.

“After you graduate from the program, they set it up where you get the chance to go shop through the closet with a stylist, and they really put time into helping you pick something that is going to make you feel confident which is amazing ... because I don’t think people realize how something like having a new outfit can change your outlook on life,” White said.

Besides job-hunting skills, the program connects participants with social workers so they can work on emotional issues, and the women who have gone through the program have access to those services for life.

They also have lifetime access to the clothes closet, and in certain cases, clients are still able to use the child care services even after leaving the program. During the program, children are provided with snacks, diapers, wipes, and any other products that they may need.

“We don’t just take care of the women and kids for those nine weeks,” said child development supervisor Renae Garcia. “Once you go through the program, you always have access to us.”

White, who has graduated from the program, now has her own two-bedroom apartment and recently completed a property management training course that she hopes will lead to a stable job. The program gave her many things but she says the most important benefit was the confidence she acquired.

“They don’t just help you get on your feet,” she said. “They remind you that you already know how to do all of this. That you had that power in you all along, but you just didn’t have the right encouragement. The right support.

“They sit you down, and shake you by your shoulders and remind you that you could do it all along. That means the world.”

The request

Needed: Funds to purchase diapers and wipes, healthy food and formula, and educational toys and tools for the Child Development Center.

Cost: $3,000

This story was originally published December 5, 2019 at 5:30 AM.