Jan 23, 2008 7:57 pm US/Pacific
Giving Homeless Women a Friendly Place to Drop In
Jefferson Award Winners Sister Maureen Lyons and Sister Carol O'Marie
(CBS 5)
Most of the women who come to this drop-in center are homeless. In 1989, Sisters Maureen Lyons and Carol O'Marie realized homeless women had almost no place to go during the day, so they created "A Friendly Place" in Oakland.
"I think we were all coming to the realization that life is not fair and some people need more help and we would have to give it to them," says Sister Carol.
When asked what the place was like when they first took over, Sister Maureen replies, "It was a dump. It was an absolute dump."
The sisters found a run-down old hotel in Oakland after they had outgrown their original center. They raised money to turn it into a beautiful and cheerful place that opened its doors in 1996.
"We wanted like a country club for homeless women -- table cloths and flowers and art on the wall -- everything that said, 'I'm worth something,'" says Sister Carol.
And it works. Margaret has been coming here for six months.
"They've helped me out a lot," Margaret says tearfully.
For Joan, it's been two and a half years. Even though she has a small room at a hotel, her situation is still shaky.
"They treat us so kind," she says. "They feed us. We get to bathe here, wash clothes here, drink all the coffee and doughnuts we want."
And what would Joan be doing if she didn't have A Friendly Place?
"Probably be lost, really lost," she says.
This center is not just a temporary shelter for women escaping from life's turbulent storms. For many, it also becomes a home, the kind of home they've always wanted and needed.
Rhonda is a long-term resident at A Friendly Place. In 2006, she moved in to one of the 26 rooms reserved for clean and sober women referred by substance abuse treatment programs.
"It gives me stability, gives me my life back, and it gives me hope. It really does," Rhonda says.
Rhonda is now going to college, getting all A's and B's. She's one of the sisters' hundreds of success stories.
Another is Brenda, clean and sober for seven years. She's progressed from client to manager of the building.
"My goal is to open up transitional housing for women coming out of prison with no place to go," Brenda says.
The women say this program works because the sisters provide structure and are tough.
Sister Carol says with a laugh, "We taught seventh and eighth grade for years and anybody who can teach seventh and eighth grade can handle mostly anything."
For providing a friendly and happy place to help so many women rebuild their lives, this week's Jefferson Award in the Bay Area goes to Sisters Carol O'Marie and Maureen Lyons.
For information on A Friendly Place, call 510-451-8923.
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