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Shannon Sundberg is an example of what WISH can do for women who are in crisis.
”I moved here six years ago,” she says. “I was experiencing domestic violence from a close relative. My neighbor at the time knew about WISH and hooked me up with Mary (Balletta). I moved into the WISH house and stayed there for a few months. I worked at the Woodrose for a while; then I got a job at the Waterwheel. Marilyn Cox hired me after me banging on her door. She was really nice and I worked there for two or three years. Then I got a job at the Eel River Café. I had always wanted to work there. It’s the kind of place I like to work at - early morning, coffee drinkers, the cool floor - so I had an opportunity to get a job there and I did. The community just kind of warmed up to me. There were people who came in to drink coffee every morning, old timers who played dice and stuff, and they were just really nice. They took me in even though I’m not a local. Everybody helped me out and supported my decisions. They helped me find a place to live, which is so hard to do around here. So I took that as a sign that I should probably stay where I’m planted. So that’s what I did.
”I started going to College of the Redwoods and when I finished up my degree there, I transferred to Humboldt State University, which I was a little worried about doing because it was such a drive. But there were other women who came from WISH, and who I was still in contact with, and they were going to college, too. I’ve been going to HSU now for two years and I just got accepted into the masters program through a Teaching American History grant. I’m currently working on my Masters and the last year of my Bachelors in History Education. I’m going to be a history teacher. By the time I’m finished, I should have a Masters in Education, a Bachelors in History Education, a double credential and I can teach English. Hopefully I’ll find a job.”
Her goal, which she shared with Mary Balletta when she first came to the WISH house, was always to become a history teacher.
”I was inspired by a history teacher in my high school,” she says. “He was a Vietnam veteran and I loved the way he told history. He was probably more of a military historian, but he was there and he made it so real and so interesting that he really inspired me to believe that if I didn’t know history I would probably end up repeating the past. I wanted to enlighten other people as to what history is so that maybe we can go on a better plain.”
Shannon is really representative of what WISH offers to its clients, which is so much more than just a place of safety. She and many other WISH clients have rebuilt their lives in ways they couldn’t have imagined possible when they were in crisis.
She was able to work part-time, earn enough to support herself, and go to school. She qualified for financial aid, grants and student loans. But the thing that mattered most in her turnaround was the support she got from WISH.
”WISH was really phenomenal in this whole story,” Shannon says. “When I initially got to WISH, I had some education, but I didn’t really have the confidence or the self-esteem to know if I should continue. I was very lost. Mary swept in and said, no, of course you’ve got to finish school. She was very encouraging. Even though I didn’t have a car, she said don’t worry about it. Go ahead. You won’t actually need the ride until you’re in class, so don’t worry about a ride yet. Just get enrolled and we’ll figure out a ride. Just taking it one step at a time like that made it very manageable. Focus on the goal and trust that the community, and friends and Mary would all provide for me, that it would come together and I would get what I needed, and it really did work that way. To this day, when I talk to women at WISH, I tell them that all the time. You get down so low that it’s hard for you to imagine that you can get better. You need so much that it’s overwhelming, worrying about day-to-day and where you’re going to live and what you’re going to eat. You don’t have the energy to think about how you’re going to get a car and go to college.
”When I did graduate from CR, it was the coolest thing that there were two other girls there - one who had been at WISH before and one who was at WISH while I was there. We were all in different parts of our education, but it worked out perfectly that we all graduated together, same semester and same ceremony, and the whole WISH board came to the graduation. They brought flowers and you could just feel the love and support from Mary and the board members. It was so beautiful; it was amazing.”
WISH builds lasting relationships with its residents and even after they leave, they continue to be involved in helping WISH help others.
Shannon is a volunteer at the WISH house. She worked her way up to volunteer coordinator and was hired as a supportive staff member. That job went away when WISH lost funding in the state cutbacks.
”I became a volunteer (at WISH). I worked there for a year and then I became the volunteer coordinator, and then two years ago I was hired as a supportive staff member. I worked part time and I really liked that job. I love the women and I love giving back. It feels so good to give back.”
The work isn’t easy, she says, and it can be emotionally draining, but Shannon still does it on a volunteer basis.
”WISH provides that intermediary role, a place that people who want to help can go and find the people who need help. When WISH is backing you and asking for help from the community, you will get it. And that’s why WISH is so important in this area, because it’s the only organization that helps women and children on that level. WISH was there when I needed it and so I have a personal investment,” she says.
Mary Balletta herself tends to tear up when she thinks of Shannon and the other women who have come through the WISH house and made new lives for themselves.
”It’s hard to not to get emotional when I think of the women for whom we made a difference at WISH,” Balletta says. Former clients call her and keep her informed about the things that are happening in their lives. She’s their close personal friend, their biggest supporter.
”WISH is a tremendous bridge from crisis to safety, from bickering to betterment, from competition to collaboration,” Balletta says. “It’s the kind of place that speaks to the values of our community. We know that our community founded this with nothing, and we’ve been growing and diversifying and becoming the kind of organization that can really respond to needs. We are excited about opening a day care center and collaborating with mothers and parents in this community, and the things we want to build as a foundation for WISH aside from our crisis shelter.”
Mary Balletta and Shannon are reaching out to the community to come up with the funding WISH needs to continue its service in the community. They have had to drop some services such as motel vouchers, Balletta says, and there’s no danger of WISH house closing down, but they do have to raise capital to pay the expenses of running WISH house. The partial funding restoration the state pushed through for shelters doesn’t help WISH because the state money is only targeted to women who are fleeing domestic violence at the hand of an intimate partner. Shannon wouldn’t fit the state profile, as her violence was coming from a family member and she didn’t have children. Women in all circumstances can find themselves in a crisis and WISH wants to be there for them. Balletta says that she reaches out to the homeless women in the area. She makes a point of contacting them and does for them what she can.
Mary says that so far, there has been a good response to their fundraising efforts. They were favorably received on the radio, the Town Square board has offered them the use of the square for a fundraising event and they have a fundraising event coming up on November 22 at Beginnings in Briceland. There will be an appeal letter going out very soon.
Of course, just about every group in the area is in need of money right now, but the two are optimistic that the community will keep WISH together.
”I would like to encourage people to give and to give generously,” Shannon says. “I know that when times get rough, people get scared and worry about their own means. I’ve found for myself that the more I have, the more I need to give. It keeps the cycle going. The more I give away the more I have room to receive. Think of people who are less fortunate through the cold weather and the holidays, the children at WISH who always get well taken care of by this community, and it’s such a joy to see them on Christmas morning opening their gifts. I just encourage people to give.”
Both women say that their budget shortfall doesn’t mean that WISH is going away. They are still there and still providing shelter for women in crisis.
”People shouldn’t be afraid to call WISH she says because they’re worried the police will become involved,” Mary says. “In fact, calling WISH can prevent a situation from escalating to the point where the police do become involved.”
”I think a lot of women in the community think they can’t call WISH because it’s a small community and they’re afraid they’ll be found,” Shannon says. “Something to remember is that WISH is connected to other shelters and if we recognize that’s a danger for you to be in the area, we can get you to a safer place.
”A lot of times when we’re thinking about making that phone call, we’re thinking ahead about how it’s going to be, but there are so many options at WISH. Mary works really hard at creating so many networks and connections to the entire community that it’s amazing the kinds of solutions that can come for women here waiting for help.”
Donations to WISH can be mailed to them at P. O. Box 642, Garberville, CA 95542. They can be reached by phone at 707-923-4100 or 1-800-211-1188.
”We’re still here providing service,” Mary Balletta says. “Don’t be afraid to call.”
REDWOOD TIMES PHOTO BY MARY ANDERSON
WISH director Mary Balletta (left) takes great pride and satisfaction in the women her organization has helped to rebuild their lives, such as Shannon Sundberg, a former WISH client, now a volunteer and a student in the Master’s program at Humboldt State University.
