Community sanctuary
On a gray, blustery day a group huddled near the entrance to the Women’s Hearth on Second Avenue in downtown Spokane. A smiling woman unlocked the doors and welcomed the crowd inside. An electric fireplace blazed. The smell of coffee and muffins warmed the air. The brightly painted walls were covered with artwork made by the women who gather here.
Women clustered in groups, some gravitated to the art table, while others chattered over coffee. A few curled up on the cozy overstuffed sofas.
Gloria Bust, 52, has been coming here five days a week, for six years. “It’s a great place to come. The staff has listening ears,” she said. Bust enjoys the Hearth’s Reader’s Theater and art classes. She also pitches in to help around the center. “I answer phones, greet people, help them sign in. I feel important here. I’m making a contribution,” she said.
The Hearth, formerly known as the Women’s Drop-In Center, is one of four programs of Transitions, an agency that promotes growth and well-being in body, mind and spirit for women of diverse backgrounds. The Hearth is many things to women, but mostly it’s a sanctuary – a place to be warm, safe and cared for.
Mary Rathert, site manager, said it’s much more than a place to drop in. It serves as a location for AA and other recovery groups. A grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation launched a computer lab. Writing workshops, relationship classes, and knitting and crocheting groups, are among the services offered.
The power of art as a means of healing also is important here. Women recovering from abuse or trauma find release in sculpting and painting as they move toward wellness. Instructors offer classes in various mediums.
The center serves all ages, but most clients are in their 40s. Rathert estimates that half of the women served are homeless, and the rest are very low income. “Ninety percent of the women earn less than 3 percent of the median income,” she said.
Many women come to get basic needs met. They use the shower or get toiletries from the assistance closet. But they also come to connect with other women.
“They come because it’s a community. If they’re lonely, they’re welcomed with open arms. There’s always someone to talk to them,” Rathert said. “It’s not depressing at all to work here. It’s the best place I’ve ever worked, there’s such a sense of community and connectedness.”
DeAnna Thomas, 44, found herself homeless a year and a half ago. She lost custody of her children due to her drinking. “My life was pretty messed up,” she said.
Through the Women’s Hearth she started the process of recovery by attending a weekly AA group. The staff found housing for her, and she was able to get her children back. She’s now a student at EWU, thanks to a private benefactor.
Calling it, “an enormous resource for our community,” Thomas said, “I wouldn’t be here today, enjoying the benefits of sobriety, without the Women’s Hearth.”
Three full-time staffers, four part-time workers and two AmeriCorp helpers run the Hearth. More than 60 volunteers do the rest of the work.
Joyce Blazek is one such volunteer. Each Wednesday morning Blazek leads a spirituality group. “A lot of the ladies don’t go to church,” she said. “But this isn’t about religion, it’s about spirituality – a place to talk about the big questions.”
In the meditation room, a table holds a cluster of candles. With the lights dimmed, Blazek opened the meeting by inviting the women to light a small votive candle and name something they’re grateful for.
One by one the women expressed gratitude for: “Cheerios,” “My family,” “The sobriety of my son,” “That my dog didn’t get put down.” Several said, “This place.”