Women and families

Women are among the most vulnerable populations in need around Greater Boston and worldwide.

More than 200 million women lack access to contraceptives, according to Watertown-based Pathfinder International. The goal of the global sexual and reproductive health organization is to improve the sexual and reproductive health and rights of the women and families worldwide. Donations to the organization help support health services from contraception and maternal care to HIV prevention and AIDS care and treatment.

Locally, The Women’s Center has helped to alleviate some of the burdens on women. Its mission: “To provide women with the resources and support they need to emerge from conditions of domestic violence, sexual abuse, poverty, discrimination, social isolation, and degradation.” Its programs have helped more than 2,000 underserved and at-risk women annually from Greater Boston and across New England.

The Women’s Lunch Place, which has 400 volunteers, provides breakfast and lunch six days a week to poor and homeless women. The estimated 125 women who enter the shelter daily also have access to laundry facilities, showers, medical care, computers, and advocacy groups. This season, the Women’s Lunch Place is asking donors for $25 gift cards so their guests are able to buy things they cannot afford on their own.

Rosie’s Place in Boston offers emergency and long-term assistance to women who have nowhere else to turn. The shelter relies on volunteers and donors to sustain.

Pictured: Rashita Clark and daughter Kennedy Clark, 6, posed for a portrait on an air mattress in Kennedy's bedroom in the family's new apartment. Rashita Clark and her two children moved into this new apartment after having lived in a hotel provided by a homeless shelter for 7 months.

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