Holiday shopping can be about so much more than just the act of giving a gift to a loved one, it can also give back, that’s the implicit message from a downtown LA non-profit that helps homeless women get off the street.
The Downtown Women’s Center was founded in 1978, with the stated purpose of focusing on “serving and empowering women experiencing homelessness.”
To that end, the organization offers everything from homemade soaps and candles to café food for sale, for whomever may be on your Christmas list – all of it made by women who have transitioned out of unhoused circumstances.
“I was in a tent on the street, at 5th and San Pedro,” said Alexandria Pineda, who supervises a staff of candlemakers at the DWC’s S. Los Angeles St. boutique. The storefront includes apparel, handmade soaps and decorative items, but Pineda’s office in the back is where many of them are made.
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“Your purchase or donation helps a woman get off the street and get job training,” she said, while carefully clipping the wicks off of the boutique’s “Joshua Tree” line of candles.
Pineda’s back story is fairly common. Moving to LA from Texas in 2021, she soon found herself unable to find bartending work in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. After depleting her savings, she ended up living in her tent on Skid Row for three months.
“I just treated it like an active warzone,” said Pineda, “because that’s what it felt like to me.”
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“It’s hard, especially for a woman,” she added.
The DWC offers a variety of services for people in Pineda’s situation, including a wellness clinic, permanent housing and meal service on Skid Row. But it was the candle-making opportunity that most caught her interest.
Madelon Wallace is the DWC’s director of social enterprise, overseeing the women and their craft products. She called what they do, especially during the holidays, “a labor of love.”
“It’s giving them those skills, helping them to go on toward where they want to be,” said Wallace.
Today, Pineda encourages Christmas shoppers to visit the boutique or its website, MadeByDWC.org. She said her products make the perfect gift, but they also give back to the community.
“Instead of asking for a handout,” said Pineda. “I’m able to take care of myself now!”
