Women's Lunch Place Unveils 'Homey' Renovations

Donna "Diamond" O'Connell has been at the "from the beginning, the middle, and probably the end."

But when she walks into the day shelter now, she feels much more at home - thanks to a $3 million renovation that brought some light, remodeling, and increased services, like more showers and computers, to the day shelter in the basement of the .

"It's not gloomy," said O'Connell, who finished a recovery program and plans to get her GED. "When they walk in, they don't feel like homeless women. It's making them feel like someone cares." 

Major Improvements

The building hasn't been touched since 1969, said Director of Development Lauren Reilly. Staff raised the money during an , and made major improvements to the space - which includes an expanded second floor.

In the main room in the basement, the nonprofit serves breakfast and lunch to about 150 women a day, which is nearly 50,000 meals a year. That room was opened up and repainted - taking advantage of the granite arches. Workers added new tables and chairs, installed an industrial kitchen, and hired a chef.

"I think it's amazing," said O'Connell, "just to know the woman's got more needs, and we can provide a lot more than we could before."

Staff also closed off a section to create a Welcome Center - where women can check-in in private, and sign up for laundry, showers, or classes like yoga or art. They added a separate Creative Expressions Room, individually funded by a Back Bay family, along with a closed off Nap Room equipped with bed frames - as opposed to the previous mattresses on the floor in the dining area.

"They're homeless, and they're sleeping outside," Reilly said. "They're not actually sleeping." So this will now provide a safe place to get real rest.

The number of showers increased from one to two; washer and dryers from two to three. It doesn't seem like a lot, but it's the difference between the women being able to shower three times a week instead of only twice, Reilly said.

On the second floor, they went from three to eight computers in the resource room, added a library and phones, and set up a medical suite with an exam table so that women aren't receiving news about their health in the middle of the dining room.

"I think we're finally in a position where we're meeting demands, whereas before we were bursting at the seams," Reilly said.

Working Poor Increase

"We have seen an increase over the past couple years," Reilly said. "We're also seeing a different kind of face."

That would be the working poor - people living paycheck to paycheck, who maybe aren't necessarily homeless, but are stopping in to do laundry, or work in the area and need the free lunch to subsidize their food budget. 

"They're doing a lot of things that, personally, I think they never imagined they would do," Reilly said.

The Back Bay, in the center of the city, is also an ideal location.

"You could have been anywhere," Reilly said. And the Women's Lunch Place never asks for names or records, so visitors can remain anonymous. 

Advocacy Manager Tara Rousseau, who works primarily in the resource center, said she often deals with educated women who are going through hard times. Over the summer there was one woman who walked in the night before a job interview.

"She said 'I have my laptop bag, and nowhere to put it, and nothing to wear," Rousseau said. So they held her bag overnight, and found her some clothes.

Rousseau said she's also seeing people who used to work at social service agencies, "people who used to tell their clients to come here," she said.

"We're dealing with that shame issue," she said.

But the new, renovated space goes a long in way in making women feel comfortable and respected.

"With our mission of being a dignified place,"Rousseau said, "now we look it."