One Billion Rising

In the foreground is Pasadena's All Saints Episcopal Church. It faces City Hall across Euclid Avenue. Beyond is what remains of the historic Maryland Hotel.

On Valentine's Day, Thursday, February 14th at 11:30am, All Saints Church will host Pasadena's participation in One Billion Rising. The movement's aim is to bring awareness to the problem, worldwide epidemic, and god damned (and I do mean god damned) tradition of violence against women. 1 of every 3 women has been a victim of such violence. This movement is necessary, and I want it to be powerful.

I was shocked and moved by this 3 minute film. It came in last week's Wired Women newsletter from Monica Hubbard. Monica compiles the week's local information to help women empower themselves politically, artistically, economically, etc. To sign up for Wired Women, click www.mjhubbard.com/wiredwomen. It's free, but you are welcome to make a donation if you like.

The One Billion Rising video fired me up. All Saints Church made a video, too, and it will delight you. I think it might be fun to go dance with these people.

International Women's Day 2012

silk floss tree

Thanks to Monica Hubbard, the author, gatherer, disseminator and mastermind behind the local weekly newsletter Wired Women, this year I actually know that International Women's Day is today! I'm celebrating.

I looked on the IWD website for local events in Pasadena and there's one. (This is an improvement; last year I'm pretty sure there were no IWD events in Pasadena. Next year, I'm pretty sure there will be more.) This year's local event, at Amadeus Spa on Hudson at Green, is called A Day at the Spa. Check out the links for more information about how you can empower women entrepreneurs while getting yourself the treatment you deserve.

Today I'm celebrating by doing things I believe in and enjoy: taking pictures, writing, walking in nature, sending thank you notes, being with my family, eating chocolate and taking my HRT. Thank goodness that's covered by health insurance regardless of how my behavior is perceived by the men of Congress because believe me, without it my behavior would be worse.

Project Housed

For me, the night is sweet. I snuggle in my home with my husband and my dog and we relax together, reading, surfing the web, enjoying each other's company.

(Boz doesn't read and surf the web, of course. We read to him. Otherwise how else is he going to keep up with current events?)

I find it hard to imagine what the night would be like if I didn't have my family and our home. Where would I sleep? Would I even feel safe enough to close my eyes? Where would I go when it gets cold?

Lately I've seen more homeless people on the streets. Have you? Have you wanted to do something but felt helpless? A handout on a street corner--where does that go? I wish I could say I've never suspected it went to the liquor store.

Thanks to Wired Women, Monica Hubbard's super local weekly email*, I heard about Project Housed-Pasadena. During the week of August 7-12, trained volunteers will "fan out on the streets of Pasadena to survey those [homeless] they find. From these responses, a list of the 20 most vulnerable homeless persons will be generated. Working from this list, Housing Works, a non-profit agency that serves homeless persons, will outreach to the identified homeless persons and work with them to become housed. Once housed, Housing Works and supportive service and healthcare agencies in the City of Pasadena will provide the services necessary to allow the participants to remain housed and integrate into the community."

Take a look at the website and watch the video. There are all kinds of ways you can participate. You can be trained to survey homeless people, you can give money, donate or assemble move-in kits and more.

Twenty people isn't everyone, but it's a start. A handout only changes a few minutes. Integration into the community changes a life.



*If you want to know more about Wired Women, email me and I'll get you hooked up.

Four Stars, To Be Exact

I learned from the 1/17/11 issue of Wired Women, Monica Hubbard's packed-with-Pasadena e-newsletter, that the Pasadena Public Library earned a four star rating from the The Library Journal "for providing exceptional response to patrons and superior customer service."

The Library Journal, a trade publication for libraries (as opposed to, say, itinerant rodeo riders), was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey, the guy who invented the Dewey Decimal System. It has the highest circulation of any library journal. I mention these things because I think they make recognition of our library by this publication especially brag-worthy.

I enjoyed reading about library director Jan Sanders, who in 1999 was named to the Intellectual Freedom Hall of Fame. Could there be a cooler hall of fame? Maybe, but this one's way up there. Apparently it's not like the Baseball Hall of Fame or the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in that it doesn't have an actual hall. I couldn't find it on the internet. But still.

Congratulations to Ms. Sanders and the Pasadena Public Library. May your (our) funds not be cut too deeply.

Be made whole by books as by great spaces and the stars. I love the library.

The Women's Room

It's not fancy, but to some people it's the closest thing to home they've got. 

I think if I were homeless I'd be afraid all the time. Tired, too. And I'd do what I could to find my way to the safety of The Women's Room at the Friends In Deed House, 444 E. Washington Blvd., at the corner of Los Robles.

Here's a description from Wired Women, a local newsletter written and compiled by Monica Hubbard:
"This project started, as many do, with a small group of women sitting around a patio table trying to discern where there were some 'gaps' in local human services for women that we might fill. After a year of research it became apparent that homeless women who were single, had no families and generally were a bit older, needed some special help. After a few little projects we decided these women needed a welcoming place to go just to get off their feet and out of inclement weather during the day."

I like reading about the germination of this idea--how the women put careful thought into the best way to go about it, then really stuck with it. The Women's Room flourishes.

The Pasadena Star-News recently featured The Women's Room and a quilting project created by clients and volunteers. The article gives you an idea of what The Women's Room is like and what it means to those who find their way there. 

It seems those gaps Monica mentioned are being filled.

The Women's Room is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays, and from 9 a.m. to noon Thursdays. For more information, call 626-797-2402. You can also volunteer: contact Jackie Knowles at TWRandFriends@aol.com.