Sarah’s… an Oasis for Women 2011 Annual Report

Individual Donors Kim Anderson Aulis

John and Cathy Bagaglio

Mary Beckfeld

Marie Theresa Belanger, CSJ

Susan Bembenek

Pat Binko, CSJ

Robert and Nancy Braschler

Philip Byrne

Bernice Caruth

Pamela Conway

Marguerite Corcoran

Ken Cryer

Cristeen Custer

Meseret Danno

Dave and Mary Curtis

Richard Davis

Meghan Davy

Belle Flynn

Benjamin Ganzkow-Wold

Carol Gariano

Michele Garnett McKenzie

Michele Gersich

Gabrielle Hanson

Ginger Hedstrom

Mary Hunt

Deb Jessen

Catherine Kelley

Mary Kessler

Afton Kielsa

Kelsey Krause

Donna Kulakowski

Margaret L. Kvasnicka, CSJ

Juliann Laabs

Mary Lang, CSJ

Kari Lemke

Karen Linder

Barbara Mace

Cheryl Maloney

Sharon Manns

Virginia McCain

Brigid McDonald, CSJ

Madeleine McElhone

Joan McGinty, CSJ

Tom and Barb McGinty

Beryl McHale

Margaret McRaith

Carolee Mengel

Debra and Keith Miner

Lillie Mobley

Elizabeth Natwick

Thelma Obah

Theresa O’Brien, CSJ

Karen Olson

Christina and Euihum Paik

William and Jean Pociengel

Patricia Raths

Michael and Lisa Romslo

James and Helen Rood

Stacey Rooney

Catherine Mary Rosengren, CSJ

Barbara and Timothy Ryan

Mark Schroepfer

Therese Sherlock, CSJ

Amanda Skorich

Eva Solomonson

Lahens and Jenna St Fleur

Cheryl and Jason Steeves

Richard Syverson

Jennifer Tacheny

Heather Tracey

Christine Treanor

Haregewoin Tsegaye

Muriel Vaughan

Elizabeth and Perry Leo Villalta

Kimber and Jim Volk

Gina Webb, CSJ

Kylie White

Elizabeth and Thomas Wild

Meg Wilkes Karraker

Joan and Wayne Wittman

Hiwote Woldeysus

Chuayi Yang

James and Pamela Young

Paula Zenker

Special Thanks!

Grantors

Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet

Ministries Foundation

Patrick and Aimee Butler Foundation

Target Foundation

H.E. and Helen Warren Foundation

Organizational

Supporters All Cities Cleaning

Breadsmith

Carondelet Center

Community Homestead

Elk River Lutheran Church

Expo School

Flamingo Restaurant

Hands On Painting

Minnesota Council of Nonprofits

Native Oaks Farm (Anne and Charles Leck)

Rainbow Treecare

Sibley Bike Library

Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet

St. Catherine University Activities Team

St. Catherine University Campus Ministry

St. Paul Police Department

Ten Thousand Villages

Unity Church– Unitarian

Shaklee (Bernice Caruth)

St. Agnes Bakery (Klecko)

Theater Latté Da

Trader Joe’s

Wisdom Ways Center for Spirituality

Women’s Drum Center

We would also like to give our special thanks to the following individuals for their extraordinary gifts of time, talent or in-kind support.

Kim Anderson Aulis

Laura and Melvin Bihl

Sister Lucy Bruskiewicz

Bernice Caruth

Helen Castronovo

Rebecca Chizema

Sr. Nirmala Dias

Barbara Dickie

Kathryn Frommer

Cyndi and Steve Ganzkow-Wold

Michele Garnett McKenzie

John Hartman

Ansgar Holmberg

Mary and Sarah Hunt

Rosalie Johnson Courtney

Amy Jo Kuhens and Girl Scout Troop #50188

Margaret L. Kvasnicka, CSJ

Gerrie Lane, CSJ

Mary Lang, CSJ

Jim Leach

Bree Lloyd

Cheryl Maloney

Jeniffer Marwa

Dan (Klecko) McGleno

Thelma Obah

Karen Olson

Catherine Mary Rosengren, CSJ

Ben Ryan

Abigail Schanfield

Susan Smith, CSJ

Eva Solomonson

Heather Tracey

Susan Weberg

Barb Wiegers

Meg Wilkes Karraker

Betty Zehringer

Susan Zoff

Sarah’s… an Oasis for Women

All women deserve to be safe and feel loved.

Sarah’s is a multi-

cultural and multi-faith

home for women in

transition who are

seeking housing,

community and safety.

Through hospitality, life

skill development and

in-home support,

women are able to

restart their lives at

Sarah’s.

Annual Report July 1, 2010 - June 30, 2011

A ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph

of Carondelet, St. Paul Province

Sarah’s Core Values

About Sarah’s Residents

At Sarah’s… an Oasis for Women we do things a bit differently than shelters. Our hope is that

each woman who comes to Sarah’s in her time of transition finds home here. The stability and

confidence that comes from a home is very different than just having a roof over one’s head.

Ideally, in a home, each member of the household shares her strengths and finds support to over-

come challenges.

The values that the staff and residents live daily at Sarah’s are what makes this building a home.

Each woman is responsible for a house job and is accountable to the others for completing it.

Through regular conferences with Cheryl, Sarah’s Director, residents learn about opportunities in

the community and explore possibilities for their lives they may have never dreamed of before.

Ultimately, the life of each woman at Sarah’s is changed.

These values along with a focus on developing right relationships, honoring diversity, and respecting each other lead to our

shared goals of healing and hope for each woman. This year, Sarah’s celebrates 15 years of fostering healing and hope in the

lives of the women who live here. We could not continue to do this without your continued support. Thank you for enabling us

to live and share these life-changing values at Sarah’s.

Peace and gratitude,

Hilary and Cheryl

41%

21%

14%

7%

5%

12%

Referral Sources

Current or Former Resident

Center for Victims of Torture

School

Shelter

Legal Organization

Other

Sarah’s… an Oasis for Women 2011 Annual Report

14

17

9

2 1

20-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56 and older

Ages

The

ave

rage

age

of

Sara

h’s

wo

me

n w

as 3

1.

Continents of Origin

Africa………………………...40

Asia………...……………...….2

North America…………….1

This year, 43 women found a home at Sarah’s. 15 moved on and 28 were in residence at year end.

14%

31%

7%

42%

2%

2%

2%

1-5 months

6-12 months

13-23 months

2-5 years

6-10 years

10 or more years

Born in the US

Length of time in US upon arrival at Sarah's

Hilary Otey, Associate Director (left)

Cheryl Steeves, Director (right)

Women come to Sarah’s… an Oasis for Women to find the support and stability they need to set and reach their

individual goals. Of the 43 women who called Sarah’s home this year, 60% worked on health issues, 72% addressed

legal challenges, 79% strengthened or developed a network of community support services and 86% started or

completed the process of finding permanent or subsidized housing. All residents had a safe and stable home, healed

and started a new life.

Summary of Sarah’s Services and Residents’ Accomplishments Th

e average length

of stay at Sarah

’s was 1

3 m

on

ths.

July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011

Education

Education is a very important part of life at Sarah’s. All of the women who live here either work full time or are enrolled in classes.

Attending English Language Classes………………………………………....20

Enrolled in college…………………………………………...……………………….12

Applied to college ………………………………………..…………………………….3

Graduated from college…………………………………..……………………...….6

Attending or Completed Vocational

Certification Program…………………………………………………………….....11

High School Graduation or GED….………………………………………..……..3

Women come to and leave Sarah’s with a wide range of skills and interests. Of the 23 women in higher educational or vocational programs, 17 chose Health/Medical fields of study, 2 studied Early Child Development and 4 chose other areas including Network Management, Hospitality Management, and Business Administra-tion.

Coming from 12 different countries , this year, the women of Sarah’s are addressing many of the challenges

that come with immigration. While at Sarah’s, 21 women became Permanent Residents of the U.S., 10 were

granted asylum and 2 became U.S. citizens. 5 women have begun or completed their journey to reunite

their families.

Employment

Worked part time………………..………….22

Worked on call……………….………………...7

Worked full time……………………………….8

Many women at Sarah’s are enrolled in school and work at the same time. 12 women conducted a job search this year and 9 volunteered in the community.

53% with a friend or family member 34% to subsidized or

public housing

13% to

market

rate

housing

Where did the women go after Sarah’s?

The average monthly income of all the women at Sarah’s is $482.

Several women have no income and last year 11 received income

from sources other than employment (family, sponsor, service

agencies or county/ state assistance.