Photo: Carol Goss (right), Board President of On The Rise, welcomed Tara and Corey Finnegan to a presentation of "Strong at the Broken Places."
 
 
“For many homeless women, this is the place where they have felt safe for the first time in their lives.”

Most of us can barely imagine the chilling reality behind that comment made by Charyti Reiter during an event titled “Strong at the Broken Places,” presented on January 25 at On The Rise in Cambridge. Located at 341 Broadway, On The Rise, Inc. is a day program for homeless women (http://www.ontherise.org) in the Cambridge and Greater Boston area.

Reiter is the Program Director at On The Rise. Her dramatic comment introduced a short video featuring a woman identified as C., who started coming in to On The Rise in the summer of 2008.

“My stepfather would do bad things to me when I was little,” C. said in the taped interview. “If I resisted he would put me in a box and leave me in there in the dark for a couple of days . . . My brother would sit by the box and try to talk to me, but when he did, my stepfather broke his arm.”

C.’s life story unfolds in a way that underscores the long-term effects of childhood trauma. Removed from her family and shunted from one foster home to another, C. was married at fourteen to a man who abused her; she had her first child at age fifteen and her second at seventeen. Drug addiction followed, then jail. After seven years she was released to a life on the streets and in emergency shelters.

Stories like C.’s are part of a monthly series of “Strong at the Broken Places” presentations. The series highlights services offered at On The Rise (photo, left) for women facing challenges that may include homelessness, addiction, mental or physical illness, and domestic or sexual abuse. Many of the women, like C., have had little experience with stable family life, preparation for adulthood, or supportive relationships.

“The aim of the ‘Strong’ series is to acquaint neighbors, potential supporters and volunteers with the powerful transformations that take place at On The Rise,” said Board President Carol Goss. “We want to get the word out about what we do here.”

About a dozen guests, board members and staff braved the snow to attend the hour-long event. Guests included a teacher at Cambridge’s Shady Hill School who is looking for volunteer projects for her students, a Medford couple with a professional interest in the operation and funding of nonprofit programs, and several people who said they had come after hearing about On The Rise from friends.

Board Member Janna Murgia opened the event by explaining her motivation for choosing to serve on the board. “I was looking for an organization that made an impact in a very tangible, personal way,” she said.
Goss emphasized the importance of the home-like atmosphere at On The Rise, which occupies a three-story residential-style Victorian house with a roomy kitchen in which approximately 25-30 women gather daily for free breakfasts and lunches. The meals are provided by local people, volunteer groups, and area businesses or charities.

“It’s very different from an ‘institutional’ setting,” Goss said. “It contributes to the well-being and the feeling of dignity that the women find when they come here.”

Executive Director Martha Sandler said that she has been involved with On The Rise since the mid-1990s. She recalled that founder Katya Fels started the program after serving as a night volunteer at a local emergency shelter and seeing how vulnerable women are in that situation. Sandler said the idea that underlies the program is called the Relational Model (http://www.ontherise.org/aboutUs.htm#longTerm). It emphasizes the importance of healthy connections with others as a basis for healing and empowerment.

A major feature of On The Rise, staff and board agreed, is that there is no sobriety policy here—a fact that sets it apart from many other local assistance programs. Help is made as accessible as possible.

“We take them as they are,” said Reiter (photo, left).

She underlined the need for a safe haven as she led the group on a tour of the house. Many of the women who come here have spent the previous night in shelters where they are afraid to go to sleep, she said. A quiet room is reserved here for naps; personal possessions can be secured. There is a shower available, a phone, a computer, a supply of donated clothing and toiletries. There are cultural and social excursions; the Wellness Program offers activities that include a writing group, painting class and massage therapy.

On The Rise also offers long-term advocacy, with professional staff members helping the women to make and keep appointments and apply for jobs or housing. The staff members follow up on referrals, and they facilitate dealings with banks and landlords and with health, legal or immigration services. The women can initiate these services when they feel ready, typically after they have already come in a number of times for meals, companionship, and day shelter.

Jennifer Tsolas, the Director of Development and Communications, noted that the set-up for community members to contribute meals is flexible.

“Some people and groups do it on a regular basis, but you can also do just one,” she said.

Community Relations Manager Marisa Serrano oversees volunteer days when groups and individuals come in for projects like cooking, organizing closets, and tending the garden. She pointed out containers of donated toiletries.

“These are seasonal,” she said. “In winter you might drop off chapstick or packets of tissues; in summer, bug spray or sun screen.”

And what about C., the woman in the video—how is she doing? The long-term effects of trauma do not go away, but C. has made huge strides toward recovery, and she credits On The Rise for making that possible. She has found housing. She has connected with her children, and when she talks about them her eyes sparkle.

The next “Strong at the Broken Places” presentation will be on Tuesday, February 22nd, at 5:30 p.m.

For information or reservations contact Marisa Serrano: strong@ontherise.org