Elawc annual review 2014

ELAWC

Changing HEARTS, Changing MINDS . . .Changing LIVES

Sueño de Alcatraz Courtesy of Yolanda Gonzalez

Annual Review 2014

A trusted resource for 39 years, the East Los Angeles Women’s Center strives to create safe and healthy communities.

2014 | Where We Have Been

2015 | Where We Are Going

The Wellness Center

Instituto de Promotora

ELAWC has a new home-base in the Historic General Hospital at LAC+USC. Co-located in The Wellness Center with 15 other community-based organizations, ELAWC delivers trauma-informed services, support, and referrals to partner organizations.

We are proud to announce the expansion of our pioneering Promotora programs, with the launch of Instituto de Promotora.

This initiative provides technical training and assistance to collaborative partners in four communities throughout California. The project, funded with a grant from the Blue Shield of California Foundation, will help other agencies implement the empowerment-based Promotora model to better serve low-income, under-served Latina women and girls.

In 2014, we educated nearly 1000 physicians, residents, interns, social workers, nurses, and support staff on domestic violence issues, offered advocacy and resource linkages to community members, and delivered direct services to 600 domestic violence survivors.

In 2015 we will expand training for LAC+USC staff, Wellness Center partners, and other non-profit organizations; disseminate information and offer support to contracted and non-classified employees through our Promotora program; and establish a Domestic Violence Task Force and sexual assault services for youth, men and women survivors.

Human Trafficking & HIV Prevention The AIDS Coordinator’s Office in the City of Los Angeles engaged ELAWC to study the causes and consequences, of human sex trafficking in the City of Los Angeles. The study pays particular attention to strategies for reducing HIV risk, and will be released in spring 2015.

The project, Las Muchachas reaches out to women at high risk for HIV and STI’s at commercial sex venues, and invites women in the life to attend platicas (chats) for education and support. The women attend groups at “The House” in Boyle Heights, a local church that has extended their support to the project. The open safe space provides, prevention education, life skills training, resources & linkages and emotional support.

2015 Events

Vernon CommUNITY Fund The City of Vernon has only 112 residents, but more than 50,000 people work in the city. The Vernon CommUNITY Fund awards grants to agencies for projects that improve quality-of-life in neighboring communities. ELAWC received a $54,000 grant to expand outreach, training, and intervention services for women and children impacted by domestic violence. The grant will serve residents of Bell, Boyle Heights, Commerce, Huntington Park, Maywood, Vernon and unincorporated East Los Angeles.

40th Anniversary Plans | 2016 In 1986, a small group of forward-thinking Latinas established the first bilingual, 24-hour crisis hotline for survivors of sexual assault in Southern California.

For 40 years, ELAWC embraced and empowered thousands of women, girls, and their families, impacted by interpersonal violence and HIV/AIDS, helping them discover inner strength, resiliency, and a path to healing.

ELAWC continues to serve as a source of support and a beacon of hope for our communities. Join us in 2016 as we honor the work of the women who made ELAWC a vital community resource and celebrate this important milestone.

MARCH: Mujeres de Paz Annual Awards Dinner & Women and Girls HIV Awareness Day

July: Promotora Conference | September: Annual Golf Tournament | October: Mujeres de Paz Candlelight Vigil December: Youth Leadership Conference | Spring 2016: 40th Anniversary Mujeres de Paz Awards Dinner

2014 year in review MAINa HEADLINE J anuar Y Human Trafficking Awareness

Subhead Style Conducted a study on human trafficking and L HIV prevention.

SEPTEMBER Annual Golf Tournament | It Stops With Us, the theme of our first golf tournament, brought more than 100 golfers and their guests together to enjoy a round of golf while also raising funds for ELAWC. Open House at The Wellness Center | Over 3,000 community members attended at the open house event.

O C T O B E R Domestic Violence Awareness

F ebruary Teen Dating Violence Awareness

Mujeres de Paz Candlelight Vigil | Remembered victims and honored survivors of domestic violence.

ELAWC advocates engaged youth through social media to learn more about healthy relationships at local All My Relationships workshops and resource fairs.

AIDS Walk LA | Joined 30,000 in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

M arch Women’s & Girls HIV Awareness

NOVEMBER

Promotoras en Accion highlighted the connection between interpersonal violence and HIV/AIDS. Mujeres de Paz Annual Awards Dinner Over 300 guests joined us as we honored: Dr. Astrid H. Heger, LAC+USC Violence Intervention Program • Natalie Sánchez • Hilda Sandoval • Thomas Siegmeth, AltaMed Detective Dana Harris, LAPD • Michelle Pereira, ELAWC Volunteer • Blue Shield of California Foundation.

A P R I L Sexual Assault Awareness Denim Day | At The Wellness Center at Historic General Hospital, LAC +USC Hospital Campus, and Roosevelt High School.

Take Back the Night | At East LA College and Cal State LA.

M ay Sexual Assault Training Graduation | Seven advocates graduated from our statecertified 54-hour training.

J une National HIV Testing DAY | Over 50 individuals tested for HIV.

J u LY Instituto de Promotora | Launched to train other organizations in the Promotora model and advance knowledge in the field of domestic violence.

AUGUST National Night Out | ELAWC joined National Night Out at six LA Police and Sheriff stations throughout greater Los Angeles.

Community Resource Clinics | Co-hosted with other community partners at the Boyle Heights Farmers Market.

Community Forum | Creating a Community System of Care Prevention Model. Boyle Heights, East LA leaders, and other community stakeholders convened to identify and implement actionable ideas to prevent gender-based violence.

Sexual Assault Advocate Graduation | Eleven advocates graduated from our 54-hour state certified sexual assault advocate training.

Instituto de Promotora | Facilitated the first Promotora training in Orange County, co-hosted with Instituto Para la Mujer

D ecember Holiday Toy Drive | Bringing Hope & Wonder Home for the Holidays. More than 60 families and 400 children received gifts through the generous support of our donors.

Letter from the Executive Director

Susana's* Story

2014 was a pivotal year for ELAWC. We increased services by 35%, initiated important new work in human trafficking, strengthened our individual donor base, and extended our reach and influence beyond the region.

Vulnerability is usually the first step to becoming an unwitting mark of a human trafficker. A victim of domestic and sexual abuse as a child, Susana lived in Mexico and was approached by an American, offering her a waitress job in the United States. Believing his promise of a better life, she traveled with him only to discover she was trapped, she had entered a life of modern day slavery. For the next four years, a phone controlled her every move, locked in a room, moved from house to house, her job wasn't as a waitress, she was trafficked and sexually exploited.

Our presence at The Wellness Center located at the Historic General Hospital enables us to holistically serve women and their families. By establishing strong partnerships with co-located community-based organizations, and the medical center, we can offer cross-discipline access to care, helping ensure better treatment outcomes.

Beyond the region, we are helping communities across the state establish culturally effective Promotora programs, to create networks that empower women and break the cycle of violence and prevention of HIV. Gender-based violence, a global issue, took center stage nationally this year.

News about domestic violence within the NFL sparked multiple high-profile national public awareness campaigns. ELAWC leveraged this awareness to mobilize communities and create opportunities for dialogue, and more importantly, local action.

In 2014, we initiated new work in an area of growing concern, human trafficking and sexual exploitation, conducting a study on human trafficking and HIV-prevention, and piloting a new program reaching out to women who live in the realities of this world.

We are especially grateful to Mr. Don Cheadle, an award winning actor, a humanitarian, and an activist for his generous donation to ELAWC and his genuine commitment to end domestic violence.

We look forward to celebrating 40 years of service in 2016 with you, our supporters and friends. You have made our work possible over these past decades, and you enable us to continue to strive for lasting change, in the hearts and minds, of men and women in our world.

In gratitude, Barbara Kappos, L.C.S.W., Executive Director

The mission of the East Los Angeles Women’s Center is to ensure that all women, girls and their families live in a place of safety, health, and personal well-being, free from violence and abuse, with equal access to necessary health services and social support, with an emphasis on Latino communities.

Constantly threatened and abused by her abductor, she was reminded the police wouldn't believe her, and that her family in Mexico was in danger. Forced to work as many as 21 hours servicing up to 20 clients in a day compromised her health, leading to a diagnosis of uterine cancer, and other sexually transmitted infections.

Susana received no more than $300 a month, to send money to her family in Mexico. Finally, she found the courage to reach out to a man, who helped her escape. She was able to reunify with her family and begin a new life journey.

When an ELAWC Promotora connected with her, she learned how take back her own power, and that she could help others too. She completed Promotoras Contra la Violencia training and is now engaged with other women who have been sexually exploited. In a very empowering move, she is now collaborating with the FBI to build a case against her trafficker, and stop him from preying on other vulnerable women. * Survivors names have been changed to protect their identity

OUTCOMES In 2014 ELAWC increased overall services by 35%, serving 8,300 women, families, and children.

Domestic Violence

 P rovided direct domestic violence services to over

800 women

 Over 1600 hot line calls answered

Sexual Assault

 P rovided sexual assault crisis intervention to over

700 individuals

 24 advocates graduated from state-certified 54-hour

sexual assault training

Youth

 Graduated 28 youth leaders  Youth leaders educated over

relationships

Promotoras

3000 teens about healthy

 360 Promotoras certified in communities across Los

Angeles County P  romotoras engaged more than 3761 community members with information about health, HIV, & interpersonal violence

HOW YOU CAN HELP •

Tell others about ELAWC

•

Sponsor a Promotora

•

Invite ELAWC to speak at your school or service club

•

Join an advisory committee or refer a colleague

Financial highlights

•

INCOME 2014 $1,755,381.00

Attend our Annual Mujeres de Paz Awards Dinner

•

Play in our Annual Golf Tournament

•

Join our Embajadoras de Paz Network

•

Walk with us at the AIDS Walk LA and the Mujeres de Paz Vigil

•

Sponsor a family during our Holiday Giving Campaign

•

Donate at www.elawc.org

•

Buy CAFE ELAWC Organic Guatemalan Gourmet Coffee

•

Like us on Facebook

•

Follow @ELAWC on Twitter

HIV

 R eached 1,261 community members with

HIV/AIDS education

 Tested 147 men and women for HIV

EXPENSES 2014 $1,749,936

Donated Services 3% Donors/Fundraising 16% Foundation Grants 19% Government 62%

Fundraising 2% Rent/Utilities 3% Stipends 3% Volunteer Hours 4% Accounting 4% Professional Fees 7% Other 8% Fringe Benefits 13% Salaries 56%

East los angeles women's centeR | 323 . 526 . 5819 | www.elawc.org

INVESTED PARTNERS $100,000 + Blue Shield of California Foundation California Office of Emergency Services CalWorks Department of Justice, Office of Violence Against Women Department of Mental Health Don Cheadle The California Endowment Weingart Foundation

$50,000 - $99,999 City of Los Angeles: AIDS Coordinator's Office County Services Block Grant Department of Health services DHSP

$10,000 - $49,999 AIDS Healthcare Foundation Kaiser Foundation Macy's Foundation Macy's Passport Marisla Foundation USC Good Neighbors Verizon Foundation $5,000 - $9,999 AltaMed Estey & Bomberger Goldsmith Legacy Southern California Edison

$1,000 - $4,999 Bank Of the West Christine Dosland DaVita A Division of Healthcare Partners DIRECTV Melora Sundt Napoleon Perdis Rick Diaz & Bizarra Capital

$100 - $999 Adi & James Song Alma Family Services Areti Tillou Armando de La Torre & Guisados

Armando Moreno Art Rivera Azucena Maldonado Barbara Dunsheath Barry Heinsick & Susy Caron Catalina Luna Cathryn Dhanatya Charles & Diane Araujo Cheryl Cromwell Coalition for Hope and Unity Constance Marie David Cruz David Hernandez David Isom Diego Plasencia Dionne Espinoza East Los Angeles Sherriffs East West Bank Edward Salaz Elena Zapien Elizabeth Jinzo Franklin Love Gabriela Torres Gail Forster Gloria De La Cruz James Price Janet Griffin Jerry Tello Jessica Hilo Jessica Maes & El Aviso Magazine John & Kerry Meglen John Anthony & Lupe's Burritos Judith Carmena Julie Slayton Karen Symms Gallagher Kathleen Kyriacou La Plaza de Culturas y Artes Leticia Chacon Linda Fischer Lorraine Castro Lydia Rudametkin Malinda Wheeler Maria Foster Marilyn Ladd Martha Cristo Martha Hernandez Mary Alvarado

Board of Directors Megan McArdle Melissa Trikilis Mercedes Perez Michael Kranther Michael Stromsoe Michelle Pereira Michelle Stream Monica Hernandez Moses Castillo Nadine Bermudez Nancy De Los Santos Natalie Wong Olivia Plascencia Peter Hernandez Philanthropia Pietro Barone ProAmerica Bank Reina Martinez Ricardo Puertas & Olivia Valdepe単a Rick Rivera Robert Barranco Robert Sonnenfield Sandra Miranda Sharon Shelton Stephen Simon Ted Prieto Tim Cosner Violence Intervention Program Women's Club of Huntington Park Yolanda Gonzalez Yolanda Ortiz Yolanda Urtez Yvette Torres YWCA of Greater Los Angeles

Embajadoras America Alaniz Claire Donahue Elva Gutierrez Georgia Kezios Lorena Kelder Luisamaria Lopez Stella Montoya Susy Contreras Yolanda Duarte-White

Melora Sundt, Ph.D., Chair University of Southern California, Rossier School of Education, Vice Dean for Academic Programs Mercedes Y. Perez, Vice-Chair Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services, Area Senior Vice President Linda A. Fischer, Ed.D., Treasurer University of Southern California, Rossier School of Education, Doctoral Support Center Marilyn Ladd, Secretary East Los Angeles College, Retired Professor Christine Dosland, Member California State University, LA Police Department, Retired Sergeant Laura Urias, Member Phillips and Urias, LLP, Attorney Constance Marie, National Spokesperson

1255 South Atlantic Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90022 office 323 . 526 . 5819 fax 323 . 526 . 5822 email info@elawc.org www.elawc.org Rape & Battering Hot line 800 . 585 . 6231 The Wellness Center 213 . 481 . 6035