Women religious help help financially vulnerable women in Colorado 'turn their lives around'

(OSV News) -- During the years Sister Frances Sedlacek ministered in rural areas of Brazil, she witnessed a movement that shifted her worldview.

"The women in Brazil were like slaves. They had no rights, no say in anything, but they started fighting (for equality). They said, 'We want a voice in our villages and in decisions being made,'" recalled Sister Frances, 75, a member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration. "(I had the) experience of watching these women finding a voice."

She craved to empower women this way in her hometown of Colorado Springs, Colorado. And when she returned in 1998, she found two fellow Sisters of St. Francis passionate about the same idea. These included Sister Jeannette Kneifel, who had just written a doctoral thesis on energizing women to take action in their lives, and Sister Marilyn Uhing, who had launched a women-centered spiritual organization.

"We were alive with the idea of women helping women to have a voice in their own life," Sister Frances said. "We got together and decided to develop a new program."

The sisters accomplished more than she ever imagined with the nonprofit they created together, Women Partnering. Serving the Colorado Springs area, this organization provides financially vulnerable women with the tools and support to achieve economic sustainability and overall independence.

With services provided at no cost to women, the nonprofit has helped over 5,400 women and 5,000 children since its opening in 2001.

"We've had many women go through (our programs) and completely turn their lives around," said Sister Frances, now vice president of Women Partnering's board.

Women have served as the nonprofit's driving force since its planning stages in 1998.

Seeking the expertise of women actually experiencing social and economic challenges, the three sisters initially assembled a research team of five women in financial straits who also "had the wherewithal to speak for themselves," Sister Frances said.

The sisters worked closely with this group, applying their lived experiences to identifying unmet needs for local women and brainstorming how a new organization might address these.

"Even though they were on welfare and struggling to make ends meet, those five women were outstanding," Sister Frances told Global Sisters Report. "They were very outspoken."

In the spirit of giving women a voice, the sisters encouraged this team of women to present a proposal to their provincial chapter of the Sisters of St. Francis. This successfully secured a vote to establish a $1 million foundation to create Women Partnering.

Since then, the nonprofit has constantly evolved, currently operating in an office provided at no cost by health care network CommonSpirit Health.

At first, simply inviting women in need to connect with them, the sisters developed what has become central to the nonprofit's services: individual development plans that identify each woman's specific needs, focused primarily on financial, medical, housing, mental and education issues.

"(This plan) helps women establish their goals and identify what's the most urgent need right now, whether it's not to get evicted or not have their electricity turned off," said Sister Frances, noting that Sister Jeannette largely spearheaded the organization's operations for years, and has since retired due to health issues. "Then we help them get on their feet enough to keep coming back."

Women Partnering aids each woman by tapping into the group's vast network of contacts with numerous agencies and charities, she added, connecting women with essential resources.

After tackling women's most immediate issues, the nonprofit's team works directly with them to address the additional goals in their individual plans, one by one, to eventually attain economic sustainability.

Their efforts include helping women find shelter, connecting them with discounted medical services, providing stipends for counseling, funding bus fare for clients without cars, and even training women on booking doctor appointments, writing resumes and applying for utility assistance.

"It's all holistic, affecting all aspects of their lives," Sister Frances said. "Our basic (goal) is to help them have a voice, to help them speak and live in a manner that they could be economically sustainable."

The nonprofit sees a high level of need in Colorado Springs, Sister Frances noted. Their clients span a wide spectrum of races, nationalities and age groups, including single mothers, immigrants and even professionals with graduate degrees who "have fallen through the cracks" after experiencing circumstances that leave them destitute or homeless, she said.

"Right now, the biggest needs (among clients) are housing, domestic violence and (access to) health care," Sister Frances said, adding that the city police regularly contact the nonprofit about women in a crisis and women just out of prison who need the organization's help.

The issues they witness remain prevalent. The National Low Income Housing Coalition reports a statewide shortage of 119,792 affordable and accessible rental homes in Colorado for extremely low-income renters. And the police receive 35 domestic violence calls daily in Colorado Springs, according to the TESSA organization that supports domestic violence survivors in the city.

Women Partnering's programs have grown largely by word of mouth, Sister Frances said.

"Women would tell other women," she said. "It was first based on a network, and it still is."

The nonprofit also helps clients develop crucial life skills through its Drop-In and enrichment programs that Sister Marilyn developed.

"The whole theme is living well in mind, body and spirit," said Sister Marilyn, 87, who holds a master's degree in social work and hails from an extensive social services career.

The Drop-In program offers educational presentations twice a month on a wide variety of topics, including budgeting, nutrition, conflict resolution and addressing abusive situations.

"The whole program is based on what the women need," Sister Marilyn said, adding that clients suggest the topics.

With 650 women served in 2023 alone, Women Partnering impacts numerous women with just a handful of staff members and volunteers, said Jennifer Taylor, executive director.

"Everybody believes in the mission," she said. "They see the need, and they see how we're able to help people."

Many clients stand out in her mind, especially one who had survived human trafficking. Women Partnering paid for a hotel room for her and her children, Taylor said, until she entered a special support program. The nonprofit also covered her Uber rides to obtain a job, invited her family to the nonprofit's holiday programs and connected them with a ministry to provide her children with stylish attire for prom.

"Now, she has housing and is working full-time," Taylor said. "That's what keeps us doing our job, just seeing her transformation."

Women Partnering's spring newsletter highlighted additional client stories, including a single mother whose partner had left her and took all their savings. Women Partnering provided her with partial rent assistance and a loan, allowing her to avoid eviction and find a job. The nonprofit also connected her with community resources to support her son with a disability.

The newsletter also detailed how the nonprofit helped a survivor of domestic violence find safe housing while awaiting a background check to enter a shelter and also provided a hotel voucher for a partially blind mother of two who couldn't stay in a shelter due to the unique needs for her children on the autism spectrum.

To enrich the lives of clients' children, Women Partnering founded a KidZ Partnering Junior Optimist International, or JOI, Club in 2013 for school-age youths.

The weekend club offers clients' youths the opportunity to plan and perform wide-ranging community service projects, Sister Frances said, as well as engage in educational projects and give group presentations.

"Some would give presentations at (agencies) where we could look for help," she said. "It's all about giving back and learning to be leaders."

Women Partnering also takes JOI Club participants on excursions throughout the year, introducing them to activities such as rock climbing, treasure hunts and attending sports games.

The whole community benefits when clients and their children obtain housing and economic stability, Sister Marilyn said.

"We are grateful that God has given us the strength and energy to do this," Sister Marilyn said.
"It's been a privilege to live out the Gospel this way."