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| Peggy Perry (left),
a Comunity Advocate for over 10 years, and Katya Fels
(right) On The Rise's Founder. |
n The Rise grew out of the hopes and stories of homeless women
attempting to access programs in the Cambridge, Massachusetts
area. Many did not fit the client profiles of these programs;
others had been through program after program, never quite
finding what they needed. The system gave up on them and they
gave up on the system.
In June 1995, On The Rise's Founder Katya Fels, received
a fellowship to create a non-profit organization to work
with these women. On The Rise's Outreach/Safe Haven program
began in 1996, with two full-time mobile street outreach
workers operating out of a small church basement office in
Harvard Square. In January 1997, On The Rise moved to a rented
space, which accommodated the daytime Safe Haven, a sited
extension of our mobile street outreach. It became clear
that our Safe Haven was something special, and in the fall
of 1997, we expanded our Safe Haven hours from 16 weekly
to 40 weekly. In January 1999, we added Saturday hours.
As word about On The Rise spread, use of the program increased
dramatically. In 1999, 22-27 women visit the Safe Haven each
day, almost 50% increase from the previous year.
In April 2000, On The Rise took
a huge step and moved to a beautiful Victorian residential
house at 341 Broadway in central Cambridge. From this home, On The Rise began to offer a full roster of services for
homeless women. In just over three years, On
The Rise completed a $1.6 million capital campaign to purchase the
home and set-up a maintenance fund to secure it’s future
as a launching pad for homeless women.
Today, On The Risecontinues to grow. We provide innovative and effective services to over 350 women annually helping them move from surviving on the street to living and thriving in their own apartments.  |
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