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Santa Monica Daily Press MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2015
Volume 14 Issue 238
YOUR COLUMN HERE SEE PAGE 5
Practicing the art of empowerment FORMERLY HOMELESS WOMEN SELL CRAFTS THROUGH OPCC PROGRAM
BY JEFFREY I. GOODMAN Daily Press Staff Writer
CITYWIDE It started as a therapeutic
activity for the women, a way for them to put their artistic sensibilities to use. It’s become a source of pride and even a little income. Clients at OPCC’s transitional Daybreak facility, who have mental illnesses and have experienced homelessness, make crafts through the nonprofit social service agency’s Daybreak Designs program. Their work will be on display and for sale during an event Aug. 28-29 at the OPCC Cloverfield Services Center, 1751 Cloverfield Ave., between Olympic Boulevard and 26th Street in Santa Monica. The group holds about five of these sales each year, usually around holidays like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. The women also have a permanent store that is open to the public from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and by appointment. The member-run art business,
“empowers women recovering from homelessness to rebuild their lives through creative, personal and financial growth,” OPCC officials said. Some of the Daybreak Designs members have art backgrounds. Many do not. But nonprofit officials tout the program as key to helping women who have schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and other mental illnesses. Through their participation in the collective, they boost self-esteem, develop life skills and interact with others. “The program is set up so that women who have been participants can mentor new women,” OPCC executive director John Maceri said. “That’s built into the design. ... Women themselves are teachers and instructors and they’ll teach the new women skills. They really create a community. It’s a very purposeful part of how the program is structured. It’s meant to be peer-run and peer-supported.” Program alumni occasionally return to mentor new members. Several have had their artwork on consignment or in retail stores, and at least one former Daybreak Designs artist has her own website and sells her work privately. Daybreak Designs was born in 1999
as an informal gathering of artists, but it morphed into something more as staff encouraged them to sell their crafts. The women design and make paintings, portraits, jewelry, greeting cards, crochet and pottery items, even candles and soaps. The clients also operate the business with the guidance of OPCC staff. They have a president, a secretary and a treasurer. They decide sale dates, wrap gifts and collect patrons’ money. Seventy percent of the proceeds go back to the artists and 30 percent covers the costs of supplies,administration and promotion. OPCC officials note that the income is supplementary but that it provides the artists with concrete achievements. During sales and community events, the artists set up their own tables and display their crafts. They enjoy interacting with the public, sharing their stories and revealing the inspirations behind their work. Ultimately, the collective fits into the Daybreak program’s goal of transitioning women into permanent housing as quickly as possible. “It’s really a bridge,” Maceri said. JEFF@smdp.com
Vaccination rates low at several area schools BAN ON PERSONAL-BELIEF EXEMPTIONS TAKES EFFECT NEXT YEAR
BY JEFFREY I. GOODMAN Daily Press Staff Writer
CITYWIDE Personal-belief exemptions
remain an issue for Santa Monica schools with the 2015-2016 school year
getting started and the enactment of a new state vaccination law coming soon. The bill, co-authored by Santa Monica High alumnus and former SMMUSD board member Ben Allen and signed by Governor Jerry Brown in June, repeals California’s personalbelief exemption for vaccines. The law, which takes effect in 2016,
came in part as a response to the measles outbreak that started at Disneyland and spread throughout Southern California, infecting a Santa Monica High School baseball coach and an infant at the school’s child care facility. The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified SEE VACCINES PAGE 3
SISTER CITIES
Courtesy photos
A delegation of local officials traveled to Santa Monica’s sister city, Fujinomiya, Japan last week as part of a goodwill mission to mark the 40th Anniversary of the sister-city agreement. Mayor Kevin McKeown, Santa Monica Sister City Association President Jeff Jarow and former Santa Monica Mayor Nat Trives, who initiated the sister city bond in 1975, were part of the trip. Santa Monica has a sister-city named street “Fujinomiya Douri” on the north side of town. Fujinomiya has “Santa Monica Park,” which was the location for an anniversary banquet. After a ritual Kagami-Biraki (sake cask cracking) and toast, Mayor McKeown greeted past Santa Monica visitors and addressed the host committee and Fujinomiya Mayor. “I have enjoyed meeting your students who visited Santa Monica,” said McKeown. “It is a strong and supportive community in Fujinomiya that has raised such excellent young people. We appreciate your hospitality as we celebrate together our 40th anniversary as sister cities. We in Santa Monica value with gratitude the strong ties we have created in the arts, sports, music, education, and cultural exchanges.”
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