Women’s Shelter Raises Money to Stay Open

After being on the brink of closure, San Diego’s only shelter for homeless women now has funds to continue operating for at least two more years, thanks to a $41,000 fund-raising drive by a committee of community leaders.

Had it not been for the infusion of private donations, the YWCA shelter at 12th Avenue and C Street--which houses at least 30 women each night--would have had to close its doors this month, YWCA Executive Director Mary McCarroll said.

“It would have had to close when we ran out of operating money--we were there,” McCarroll said. “Assuming that we get government funding, (the donations) should stabilize funding for a period of two years.”

The YWCA covers half of the shelter’s $52,000 annual operating expenses with aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the San Diego Housing Commission, McCarroll said. The remainder of the shelter’s costs must be met by private donations, most of which are channeled through the Regional Task Force on the Homeless, she said.

In August, it became apparent to task force officials that private donations would not be sufficient to keep the shelter open. It was then that Joan Martin, manager of government consulting services with the law firm of Deloitte, Haskins & Sells, formed a committee to raise $50,000 by the end of October.

With a few small fund-raising events and a lot of personal campaigning, the committee members should reach their goal by the end of the month, after which the group will disband, Martin said.

“We couldn’t go after big corporations because that would have conflicted with the United Way’s fund-raising,” Martin said. “It was overall a very personal networking effort.”

The committee did receive “fairly small” corporate donations from Great American Savings, San Diego Gas & Electric, Ernest W. Hahn Inc. and Pacific Southwest Airlines, Martin said. However, most of the money was generated from donors contacted by the committee members, the majority of them women.

“It was a real women-helping-women kind of effort,” Martin said.

The effort was heralded by the women who operate the center.

“They’ve done worlds in the little bit of time they’ve had,” said Jeanne Dorsey, director of the shelter. “If it wasn’t for private donations, there wouldn’t be a women’s shelter. It’s as simple as that.”

Police say that about 20% of San Diego’s homeless population--estimated by county officials to total 5,000--are women. Dorsey knows only that there are more than the YWCA shelter, with a limit of 30 women a night, can accommodate.

“We turn away women every day, though we always fit in a few extra,” she said. “They range in age from 18 to 90. Some are mentally ill. Some are developmentally disabled. Some have just been divorced. About 99% have been beat up or raped at least one time from being on the street.”

The shelter begins admitting women at 5 p.m. each day and permits them to stay until 7:30 the following morning. Before they are admitted, the women must surrender the weapons they use to try to defend themselves on the street.

“Mostly knives and razors,” Dorsey said. “I don’t think they can afford a gun.”

Each night at the shelter, counselors from organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Planned Parenthood and the Community Mental Health Service lead discussion groups. The YWCA also has programs to help the women improve their health, appearance and self-image, Dorsey said. Last week, the San Diego Police Department announced that it will sponsor a recreational program for the women beginning Nov. 9.

“It takes three to five months to get a woman back on her feet,” Dorsey said, adding that few women stay beyond six months. “That’s how long it takes to get them to the point where they can get an apartment. . . . We want to get them back into the mainstream of society.”

In addition to Martin, the fund-raising committee includes Pamela Hamilton, vice president of the Centre City Development Corp.; attorney Rebecca Michael; Norma Assam, a former member of Mayor Maureen O’Connor’s campaign committee; Richard Huff, former director of the San Diego Assn. of Governments; Kim Wenrick of the Hahn company; Barbara Herrera of the San Diego Tribune; Richard Louv, a San Diego Union columnist, and Deputy Police Chief Norm Stamper.