WISEPlace’s vision is to uplift and transform women to pursue independence and make a positive contribution to their community.
They do so by providing safe, affordable transitional housing, healthy meals, financial-empowerment curriculum and employment assistance, to help women move from homelessness and hopelessness to self-reliance. Case managers provide personalized counseling to help each woman overcome issues that led to unemployment and homelessness.
Since its inception in 1924 as the South County YWCA, WISEPlace has been committed to providing care and concern to women, children and families. There is now a hotel called the Hotel for Women, which is a 30-bed transitional housing shelter for single women. In 1999, the agency disaffiliated from the national YWCA organization to focus on women’s homelessness in the community and became known as WISEPlace. During its history, WISEPlace has transformed the lives of more than 7,800 women.
Visit www.wiseplace.org for more information.
A version of this article was published by Good Day Orange County. It has been republished here with permission.
