Past Events

Health Fair March 14, 2011

Many women that we meet do not have easy access to health care so on March 14, 2011 we were able to host a Health Fair. We opened up the storefront to the women and had health professions present to provide services such as blood pressure checks and advice on reducing stress levels. We were also able to give each women a well stocked hygiene kit to take home. Along with meeting their practical needs we were able to meet their spiritual needs by offering prayer and a listening ear. Thank you to all the volunteers who were able to help make the event possible.

 

Valentines Nail Outreach February 12, 2011

Free manicures, coffee, candy, valentines cards and free polish made our last womens outreach a raging success! Thank you to all who helped and donated. Our favorite line of the day was from one lady who walked out, holding up her freshly painted nails and said "Thank you for making me feel so important!" This says it all really.

Christmas Dinner, Dec 13th, 2010

Sharon saw me from across the room and quickly made her way through the crowd over to where I was standing. "Could I talk to you about that message you just shared?" she said intently looking at my face for answers. We were having a Christmas banquet for women in our neighborhood. Many experience street life on a day to day basis, homeless and vulnerable, combined with a history of various kinds of abuse and exploitation. Sixty women had gathered inside our drop-in center for a Christmas meal, crafts, a special gift, resources and prayer. This was truly a time of showing value and God's love to women. Even though we have these large events every three months this one was special.

This was to be the time where they heard the real Christmas message and had a chance to respond. After the extravagant meal the women were all ears as I shared about God choosing to become man. There were heads nodding as I spoke about the God of the universe being born into a life of pain and suffering so that he could empathize with them. Click here to read on.

 

'Cupcakes and shoes' July 17th, 2010

Our summer women's day, 'Cupcake and shoe giveaway' was our busiest yet.  We were able to hand out new tennis shoes to 153 women, thanks to a kind donation from the Michael Chang Foundation.  Each woman received a yummy cupcake, and was served throughout the day with love and encouragement by our staff and wonderful volunteers.

Many of the women shared stories of trauma, and abuse they have suffered in their lives, and continue to suffer on a daily basis.  For this small space in time we were able to give them a place of safety, to connect with other women and receive support.  Through our women's events, our hope is to build relationships with the women in our neighborhood, offering hands on support, and connecting them to much needed services such as housing, professional counseling, rehab etc

 

'Blessed are the Feet' April 24th, 2010

At the end of April we hosted a womens outreach event called 'Blessed are the Feet'. We received a fantastic donation from Shotwell, a boutique in San Francisco, of brand new shoes, enabling us to give each of the 120 women who came a pair each!

 

 

Women's Day Outreach - August 1, 2009

One lady at a time

From the age of 13 Jenny had been alone in San Francisco, escaping her home life in San Jose. Unable to now leave the city due to parole, sleeping on the street and five months pregnant, Jenny walked through our doors one Saturday in August. Desperate for help she broke down in tears, confiding that despite her pregnancy she was still using crack cocaine. After 16 months clean in a rehab program, Jenny had returned to drugs when her baby's father abandoned her for another woman and left her with nothing. That day we talked with Jenny, offered her support and resources and with the help of Compass Family Services found her a place to stay that night.

Jenny represents just one of the 100+ ladies we reached out to that day. Hygiene kits compiled and donated by local volunteers enticed the ladies off the streets into our Ellis Room, filled with brightly colored helium filled balloons! Nail painting and jewelry making were a hit and the free ice cream made for a perfect San Francisco day! We also had the pleasure of hosting tables from various SF agencies, including Compass Family Services, SAGE project, Alpha Pregnancy and La Casa de las Madres.

Our goal was to cherish these ladies and make them feel valuable. Many women lingered in the building soaking in the pampering and care they received. Since then our staff have been approached on the street many times with women modeling their beautifully painted nails and expressing hope that we'd host another day just for them very soon!

May 2008

BJM hosted a resource night to bring together college students, people of faith, community leaders and activists to collaborate around sex trafficking issues. David Batstone, President of Not For SaleCampaign, spoke about his journeys to Asia and his book "Not For Sale". Over 100 people attended and were inspired to continue seeking change in San Francisco.

June 2008

BJM hosted a viewing of Not For Sale's documentary.

July 2008

Women's outreach into the Tenderloin district ofSan Francisco.BJM and many great volunteers washed feet, handed out over 100 hygiene kits, offered resources for domestic violence, and gave away FREE ice cream! We packed out a local park and got the chance to be out in our community making friends. Many of the women we met visited our office later for more help or now attend our homeless program!

October 2008

Joining the fight to say No On K, BJM invited Ben Patterson representing "Call and Response"movie and Louisa Barry from Not For Sale Campaign to share about the dangers of Proposition K and trafficking here in our own city and state. Following this event we organized an outreach into San Francisco to warn people about Prop K. Prop K was defeated on November 4th!