Women in Need

Website: www.win-hawaii.org

Executive Director Mary Scott-Lau founded Women In Need (WIN) in 1996 to provide basic life skills instruction for women.  WIN has grown into a multi-function organization that serves men, women and children and now has extensive experience in working with the homeless.  WIN’s mission is to empower families at risk by helping them develop the basic tools and skills of personal development and self-sufficiency that enable them to live in safe and stable environments and in healthy relationships.

WIN operates the Family Resource Center in Waianae and provides stabilizing classes in parenting, anger management/domestic violence, basic life skills, financial literacy, computer instruction, job readiness, and assistance in applying for post-secondary education and training.  They also work with two groups of homeless teens in Waianae.

WIN provides similar classes in Haleiwa, Waimanalo, Waianae, and Lihue, Kauai through various community partnerships.  Between 300 and 400 people participate in classes each year.

In August of 2007, WIN opened a “Bridge for Success” transitional home in Waianae for eight women. The main focus is on women who are coming out of prison and would otherwise be homeless. Most women who enter prison have a background of extreme social and economic disadvantages. Substance abuse, complex mental health needs, poor education and experience with domestic violence are often factors in their lives. Post-release support plays a crucial role by preventing relapse into old patterns and negative environments.

In February of 2008, WIN opened a transitional home in Kaneohe for seven women and their children. This home provides very intensive case management. Currently, two of the women residents have come from domestic violence shelters and five have come from the Salvation Army substance abuse treatment program. The women are very challenged to develop parenting, money management and healthy relationship skills.

In July of 2008, WIN opened a six-bedroom transitional home on Kauai for women and children. WIN’s Bridges to Success homes strive to provide a variety of practical and emotional support services that empower women and give them the skills they need to support themselves and eventually their children. WIN also works with the immediate and extended family of each woman to help rebuild broken relationships and establish new ones.