By Morris Malakoff, JTNews Correspondent
It takes fortitude and bravery for a woman to walk away from a life of abuse. It’s a walk that means dealing with deep issues of self-esteem, a failed relationship or a loss of financial security.
It often also means leaving behind a lifetime of memories, familiar surroundings and friends and the material goods that everyone needs to survive from day to day.
She may leave a comfortable home to escape a dangerous home life. To get relief from emotional or physical abuse may mean giving up a warm bed, a clean bathroom, and a well-stocked kitchen for the back seat of her car, a friend’s sofa bed or a women’s shelter.
When she comes out the other side, she may have her children with her and her fragile self-esteem may be rebuilding. She might even get transitional housing and then an apartment of her own. But once she is there, it may be nothing more than a roof over her head and a place to hang her meager wardrobe or keep a few of the kids’ toys. She likely landed on her feet without things most of us take for granted — cooking and eating utensils, chairs and a table, towels and a firm bed.
That is where Shalom Bayit: Furnishing Peaceful Homes, a program of the Seattle Section of the National Council of Jewish Women comes in.
The program, founded in 2000, works to solve that issue by gathering new and gently used furniture and other household items and distributing them to women in need.
This summer, that program received a huge boost when Karyn F. King, a long-time supporter of Shalom Bayit, donated $25,000 in seed money for an endowment to take care of the underlying costs such as transportation and storage.
King freely admits that she comes from a home where her father and brother were abusive. That has made her quick to step up when Shalom Bayit needed something.
“I have limited disposable income, but I have always put some aside for doing good,” she said.
But this gift has a special meaning to her.
“My father passed away last spring and the first distribution of his estate was made this summer,” she said. “There is a nice symmetry to using that money to help with a program that helps women in this situation.”
King says she left home when she was 18, back in the mid-‘60s. It was a different time.
“There was no ‘domestic violence,’ the cops didn’t care,” she said. “Women had nowhere to go. Many really were trapped.”
King’s gift is only a start. She is hopeful that others will help build the endowment for one of the only “furniture banks” in the country.
Wendy Thomas, president of NCJW’s Seattle section, agrees.
“The endowment will be a great help,” she said. “But there will still be a need for donations of both money and furnishings,” she said.
Much of the cash goes to purchase items that are not often suitable for secondhand use, such as mattresses, bedding and kitchen items.
“We want these women to feel like they are getting a fresh start, with a place and things they can take pride in,” she said.
Women are referred to Shalom Bayit by agencies throughout the region that assist women transitioning to housing from domestic violence situations.
They then are taken to a warehouse and assisted with getting the items they need.
“We charge donors a small fee to pick up items,” Thomas said. “But everything for our clients is without charge.”
More information about Shalom Bayit, and how to donate is available at www.ncjwseattle.org or by calling 425-558-1894.