29 NEW women asked 431 for help in June and July, on top of the 21 we’ve been walking with. Our advocates were already full. What happened next is the part we want you to see.

Re:Storing Stability

Even though the Advocates were full… no one was told they had to wait.

A woman who comes to 431 stays, on average, connected for more than 12 months. Lasting change is slow, and we choose to walk beside one woman for a year rather than simply hand fifty of them a resource sheet. But this means that when our Advocates reach capacity, it can be a while before she has a new spot open.

In June, more women called than in any month this year. So we launched something we'd been building toward: trained volunteer coaches, working one-on-one alongside our advocates.

Our amazing coaches completed fourteen coaching sessions in their first month — budgets, job searches, communication goals. Every one of them aimed at the five things we have watched, over and over, decide whether a woman's independence holds:

Safety, Finances, Planning, Communication, and Commitments.

Each woman walked away empowered, with a new skill, resource, or next step they could implement. Your time, talent, and treasure made fourteen appointments happen that would have otherwise had to wait months until an advocate had space. That’s huge, and SO exciting!

Re:Building Confidence

Two women who once refused to be vulnerable chose to stand up and speak out.

In June we held our first Loved Legacy High Tea Fundraiser. Multiple women spoke about what 431 has meant to them: board members, volunteers, and two graduates. And it was the graduates who stole the show.

Think about what it costs a woman to stand and be honest. Most of them arrive here struggling to let our team into their pain. They are strong, they are capable, and they have to admit that they don’t have it all together. And slowly, they understand that that’s ok… and they will still be loved anyways.

So for two of our graduates to stand up and share about the hardest years of their lives took an immense amount of courage. But they did it so that the attendees would understand… and that another “appears-to-have-it-all-together” woman has the courage to ask for help too. They did it as their own investment into those who come behind them, recognizing the resources poured into them.

Then in July, Re:New Self-worth opened with sixteen new women in the room – every single one taking the class for the first time.

Sixteen women walked into a room to talk about whether they are worth anything. Not one of them had to. Every one of them showed up, learning to be courageously vulnerable. And it’s not who you think… a 20 year old sits next to a 64 year old and each brings a fresh perspective to the other. Your partnership makes moments like these happen… and we are grateful.

Re:Newing Hope

The nights women bring other women to.

We are often asked “How do the women find 431?”

The answer is you. And then the ladies you sent bring more.

In June and July we held Psalms and Songs – and both nights, they brought their burdens, they brought their friends and they brought their hunger for truth. We watched women fight to worship with abandon. Not perform it. Fight for it.

Rachel, our Executive Director, described it this way:

“You see a room full of women. I see a room full of pain. Abuse. Abandonment. Divorce. Death. Disabilities. Job loss. Isolation. Numbness. Homelessness. And more.

You see some hands raised. I see the sheer defiance against the darkness. The refusal to believe that their stories are over, and the showing up to prove it.

You see some words on a screen. I see the Living Hope, come to life in a way that only suffering brings. I see the hunger for truth, and hearts tender to it.

You see a room full of women. I see a community. Women who have suffered and understand the courage it takes to be vulnerable. Who welcome each other with joy, and lift each other’s eyes above the grief.

You see a room. I see thousands of answered prayers.”

Also in June and July:

Experience Spring Hill – we showed up where our neighbors already were, so the next woman who needs us knows our name before she needs it. More than 200 people did our quarter challenge, raising $52 and proving that every cent counts!
Two more graduations happened, celebrating Sandra and Melinda! Way to go, ladies!!
Re:Store True Safety kicked off the fall round of Re:Store classes in July, starting where we always start: whether a woman understands true safety.
Our annual strategic board summit — a full day with our board deciding what 431 will and won't take on this year. Intentionality doesn't start with programming. It starts here.

The part that's yours

This summer, you didn't fund a building or a brochure. You funded the ability to say yes in the month a woman asked, instead of the month a spot opened.

These opportunities are free for our clients, but it’s your dollars that make them happen. Our goal is to offer hope and a plan to 200 women before the end of the year.

You’ve helped us say yes so far. Will you give a special gift towards our Independence Fund today to help us reach that goal? $50 covers the very first call and gets her in the door. $600 covers the 12 we expect to see as school gets underway.

Summer Highlights