Dressing for success

Women Helping Women gives business clothing to those getting back on their feet. ‘They made me feel beautiful,’ recipient says. Eighteen months ago, Santa Ana resident Michelle Howard was unemployed and recovering from a drug addiction.

Since then, she said she has undergone a major transformation. She credits her turnaround to services provided by Women Helping Women, a nonprofit organization that offers free business attire, image consulting and an employment search support to low-income women.

Howard was given shoes, a handbag and cosmetics for her job interview.

“They made me feel beautiful,” Howard said. “What they did for me was make me feel like a person again. The clothing, the counseling, just being there. It helped me get my place back in life.”

Founded in 1993, Women Helping Women was located inside a school and a church before settling into its current home in Costa Mesa.

The focus has largely been providing services to women who are victims of domestic abuse.

“The founders saw that there were a lot of women needing to go to work or needing to go to court, and perhaps escaped [their home] with nothing,” said Women Helping Women Executive Director Jeanne Flint.

Last year, Flint said the organization served more than 1,800 women in Orange County. The programs are free to clients, all of whom are referred by Women Helping Women’s 65 nonprofit partners.

The organization regularly holds clothing drives and accepts high-end clothing from community members. There’s a quarterly sale at the center, which includes slacks, blouses, blazers and dresses. Department stores also occasionally pitch in with clothing.

Flint said 50 volunteers come in each week to sort through clothes and provide their professional expertise.

Some are interior designers. Others are human relations managers or recruiters who have job-market expertise. One day a week the organization brings in a paid career counselor to provide clients with advice.

Flint said about 60% of the organization’s clients are single women who are heads of their households. Some who come for help are recovering from substance abuse. Others may have spent time in a correctional facility.

Flint said as long as a person is referred to them by an accredited organization and is career-minded, Women Helping Women provides them help.

“We don’t give blue jeans and sweatshirts, we give them beautiful clothing,” she said. “It doesn’t help them unless they are looking for work.”

Women Helping Women holds one major fundraiser each May. At the event, clients share their success stories, and attendees receive makeovers.

Howard said she has been drug free for more than a year and now works for a mortgage company.

“It was eye-opening to see an organization help someone in my condition,” Howard said. “I’ve gained confidence and self-esteem.”20051207ir3sk5knDON LEACH / DAILY PILOT(LA)Jeannie Flint, center, stands with other members of the Woman Helping Woman organization in Costa Mesa.