On The Rise, Inc., the daytime safe haven in Cambridge for homeless women, will host its 14th Annual Prepare for Winter Dinner and silent auction at 6 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 22, at the Royal Sonesta Hotel, Edwin Land Boulevard, Cambridge.

The non-profit organization, located at 341 Broadway (left) serves more than 350 women every year. On The Rise’s unique programs help homeless women find and retain housing, while the organization’s professional advocates build relationships with the women and offer them support and friendship as they navigate a fragmented social service system.

“We all prepare for winter in different ways,” said On The Rise Board President Carol Goss, a development and communications consultant based in Cambridge. “I get out the warm sweaters, my mailbox fills with catalogues, I buy salt to prepare for the ice and snow. But how do you prepare for winter when you are homeless, spending your days or even your nights outside?”

At On The Rise, staff and volunteers are the ones who prepare for the coming cold months. They stock the pantry with nutritious foods and the closet with donations of warm clothing and foul weather gear. And they raise funds through the annual dinner and auction.

This year the dinner will feature the women who have turned to On The Rise for help.

“The women want people to know how much On The Rise means to them,” said Suma Nair, an attorney in the Private Client and Trust group at Goulston & Storrs, a Boston-based law office. Ms. Nair joined the board of On The Rise last year and agreed to chair the committee that organizes the event.

“It’s compelling to hear how many of the women say On The Rise is the first place they’ve ever felt safe in their lives,” she said. “The women praise the way the staff and volunteers treat them; with respect and dignity, and communicate more powerfully than any keynote speaker, how special the organization is.”

Area folksinger-songwriter Randall Kromm (left) will perform his song titled "On the Rise." Filmed interviews with the women, photographs, and short vignettes will be shown throughout the evening.

Most of the women in On The Rise’s programs are between the ages of 25 and 60. Many struggle with emotional and physical challenges - trauma, physical and mental health issues, addiction and more. Many are victims of childhood, domestic and sexual violence and abuse. These and other challenges contribute to the women’s poverty and isolation - and homelessness.

Almost two-thirds spend their nights in shelters or outside. Some bunk with friends or relatives, others work an overnight shift or find refuge in the emergency rooms of local hospitals.

“The women talk about finding hope and support, care and compassion – physical and emotional safety,” Ms. Nair said. “The people who work at On The Rise genuinely care about the women, and those relationships are the key to women opening up and tackling their challenges.”

The annual fundraiser accounts for 18 percent of the organization’s yearly $1 million operating budget.
For ticket information, please call On The Rise at 617-497-5757.

“On The Rise offers women a safe, caring, non-judgmental community where they can find a loving hug, a nutritious meal and staff that can help them unravel it all -- the causes and consequences of homelessness,” Ms. Goss said. “This is where women who have lost hope can find a place to regain it, to survive and thrive.”

Written by Kinga Borondy