SOWINS, the Penticton-based organization that for 40-plus years has offered indispensable aid to victims of abuse and violence in the South Okanagan, needs bucks.
It needs bucks because, sadly, business in its "second-stage" program, where clients go to prepare themselves to re-enter society after beginning their journeys in "emergency" or "transition" housing, is too good. There simply aren't enough available spaces to meet the need.
So SOWINS (South Okanagan Women In Need Society) is putting the word out there. And today, for one day only, they're doing that as the lucky beneficiary of Bell Media's Have A Heart Radiothon.
Today, March 30, from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm, SOWINS reps are stationed at Cherry Lane Mall, along with radio personalities like MOVE 91.7's Allan Gee, in an effort to educate the public about their services and drum up donations.
"When women come to SOWINS, they usually come to or emergency housing or our transition house," said SOWINS Fund Development Advisor Marni Adams this morning, "and from there they move on to our second-stage program, which is part of their journey to healing.
"Unfortunately, we don't have many second-stage spaces. So they're often left in a situation where they need to choose whether to go back to their abuser or try to figure out life on their own."
According to Adams, SOWINS "hopes for" stays of approximately 30 days in its primary-stage emergency and transition housing.
"But if we can keep them moving through the process," she explained, "then we open up beds in our emergency housing. Right now our emergency housing is backlogged."
Currently, said Adams, SOWINS can handle approximately 24 women and their children in its emergency and transition housing. It also has seven second-stage units, each of which can accommodate one to five people.
Even with that, they're slammed for space.
"There seems to be a stereotype as to what the abused woman looks like," said Adams. "But we work with young girls, high school girls, and women all the way up to their 80s. There's no age ceiling, no education ceiling. Some are wealthy, many are not. It's everyone."
Today's radiothon and current fundraising push is aimed squarely at a Kickstarter campaign to, said Adams, "raise funds for building or finding a property to renovate."
"So we're putting a shout-out to the community as well, to realtors or anyone who might know of a property that we can look at leasing or building on. We will be looking at getting some funding from BC Housing and the community to provide this space for the safety of women and children."
Anyone who can get to Cherry Lane Shopping Centre at 2111 Main St. today before 5:30 is encouraged to do so. Otherwise, donations to SOWINS can be made online here.
