Program teaches women non-traditional job skills

    The FM 1960-based shelter and jobtraining facility has provided safe haven for women from abusive situations and has offered job skills to women since forming in 1989. Located in the far reaches of northwest Harris County, the facility has put worsen to work at, highpaying, benefits-bearing jobs across the city.

    "In our training, they have to build a house from start to finish. Its only 12(foot)-by-12, but it has a window and a door, a flushing toilet. and electricity, shingles. You have to tape and float it:. You have to put the foundation down, and that's what gives them all their skills," Turner said.

    Evans comes from a family of carpenters, but said she never had the appreciation for what they did until she came to Women Helping Women to improve her wage-earning capability.

    In this day and age, and at my age, I knew I needed this," she said. "I can get a baby-sitting job. I can get a McDonald's job. But to get a job that's going to be able to afford to pay the bills and insurance and savings for the future, 1 needed a trade --- some skills.,:

    Evans listed the course's computer classes as the most challenging and rewarding.

    "It's motivational, it gives you confidence like you've never had before," she said. "Can you imagine? If you can learn to build a house, you know you're on your way to doing things."

    Women Helping Women employs a 52,000-square-foot house and a 5,000 toot barn on three acres of land to completee its missions, including shelter services.

    "What we found out was up in this area there wasn't a shelter service." Turner said. "Some of the women would get about halfway through training and something would happen and they'd lose their apartment because they're trying to work part-time and go to school full-time, so that's how we have shelter now. We can house eight. families at a time."

    "We have a lot of counselors for that because it's just totally foreign to me. I'm like, you don't take a beating to keen a roof over your he A." said

    Turner said none of what Women Helping Women has accomplished would be possible without its strong staff, board of directors. volunteers and corporate partners. The organization is especially indebted to the latter, which includes as many as two dozen groups.

    The help doesn't always come in the form of jobs. Recently, the Houston Rockets' Clutch City Foundation provided funds to help the organization rebuild areas of the facility damaged from Allison's floods.

    "Actually, we haven't done anything with Women Helping Women before. When the flood hit. we immediately knew we needed to somehow help out people in the city who were affected by the flood." said Sarah Joseph, Houston Rockets director of community services.

    "The work Women Helping Women is doing to help women rebuild their lives and learn a skill is very important to women and their families. And, of course, they need a facility to be able to carry on their work, and we'ree glad w be able to help them," Joseph said.

    The work Women Helping Women does is not only appreciated by its program participants. but by area employers as well.

    "They're just, loving our women because they have the skills and can do tile job when they came, to them. At first. it's like, `Let me try one'. The next time, it's 'Give me 10'. Then it's 'Are any ready right now? We can show them everything they need right here,' Turner said.