Soroptimist Saves the Weekends

Soroptimist International is a global volunteer organization that provides women and girls with access to the education and training necessary to achieve economic empowerment. Their mission is to ensure women and girls have the resources and opportunities to reach their full potential and live their dreams. So, it is no wonder why Soroptimist International of Seattle South, has been a longtime Partner and supporter of Hospitality House in our mission to help homeless women find home, health, and hope.

“The hardest part of my week is finding a safe place to be when the shelter is closed.”

Over the years, Hospitality House has been essential to our Residents in helping them regain a sense of place. It is impossible to consider one’s personhood apart from place. A person’s sense of belonging, livelihood, and community are often what cultivate the context of place. This place is where a person typically calls home. For the 90 days that our Residents are in our program, their sense of “Home” is found in the physical location of Hospitality House. The problem that many of our Residents faced was that “Home” at Hospitality House was only open all day Monday-Friday. Our Residents had to seek shelter elsewhere during the daytime hours every weekend.  Some of these shelter options were not the safest environment.  Our residents work diligently all week long to achieve the requirements of their goal work… often times, they would say, “The hardest part of my week is finding a safe place to be when the shelter is closed.”

We have a budget to keep our shelter open 24 hours a day, Monday –  Friday. While an open shelter 5 out of 7 days is good, it still was not an ideal situation for our Residents as they were still in need of shelter on the weekends.

This year, Soroptimist changed this dynamic by stepping up and meeting the needs of our Residents head on. After hearing the worries, concerns, and hardships that our Residents faced regarding the stress and anxiety of finding somewhere to be on Out Days – Soroptimist took it upon themselves to make a difference. When one of their generous donors gifted Soroptimist a substantial monetary gift to be used toward the empowerment of women and girls – Soroptimist decided to designate those funds to Hospitality House. Soroptimist saw the need of our Residents and responded in a very tangible way. With this amazing gift, Hospitality House was able to hire a weekend staff to keep our doors open on the Saturdays and Sundays during harshest months of the year. Soroptimist provided Hospitality House with this covering, and we in turn were able to cover our Residents entirely during these months. The difference was undeniable. Our Resident recipients were rested, refreshed and ready to work each week.

A few weeks ago, we received a note from the Soroptimist International of Seattle South Vice President, Sharon Mann saying, “We feel Hospitality House gives women the security to feel safe and empowered to excel. Without the safety of shelter, life comes to a standstill because it takes all of one’s energy to find safety. In addition, Hospitality House provides resources to women helping them find a path to their future. This all aligns with the mission and vision of Soroptimist. Many of us have either faced or have come close to facing the same situations these women are experiencing. We understand the sheer terror of feeling helpless and hopeless. We as a community need to uplift one another and that is what the partnership between Hospitality House and Soroptimist does.” These words came on the heels of the exciting news. Soroptimist will be partnering with us this year, by committing to meet the needs of our Residents once again.

Sometimes, we all just need someone to save the day. Soroptimist saved our weekends!