It is important for those of you who are reading this blog, to know that this journey is coming to fruition out of necessity, the need to, now in my 50th year of life, go out into the world and be apart of the movement to help change the lives of women in crisis. This is about sitting down and having conversations with women in shelters and juvenile halls. This is about changing the general public view of the American Homeless Woman.

I want to be able to have a chance to instill the idea into these women's minds that they have a choice, a choice to live without fear and humiliation. A choice to make a difference in this world, to want to have love and compassion and self-respect for themselves and the ability to teach their children as well and if they do not have children yet, the opportunity to make healthy decisions and end the cycle of despair that has been passed down to them for God knows how many generations.

Melinda Field, my friend and business partner at Wise Women Ink, LLC (http://www.wisewomenink.com/) came up with the concept of the Wisdom of the Crone deck, http://www.wisdomofthecrone.com/ because she, like so many women after their children had left home, wanted to know who she was, and where she was going and what the world had in store for her at age 56. As the other decks (Wonder of the Mother, http://wonderofthemother.com/, The Journey http://thejourneydeck.com/) came to fruition we realized we had created something tangible that women could relate to and find comfort in. We feel these decks could be just that, a comforting tool for the struggling homeless woman, the young woman in trouble and the homeless mother who needs a bit of peace and encouragement
as they work to find their peace and build a new life for themselves.

As this journey begins to unfold, amazing things are happening. I will be speaking at the Tehama County Juvenile Hall on September 15th to both the young women and young men there. Then on to Contra Costa County Juvenile Hall in Martinez California.
Then on to Ogden Utah where in July 1978 I entered The Home For Battered Women . My husband had beaten me into the hospital, I was 19 and I had no where to go. Declining the help of the authorities (in those days you could get out of jail for $5o for beating your wife) I knew that if I put him in jail he would be out the next day, and there was a strong possibility he would finish the job he started.

They told me that a new home for battered women had been opened in Ogden and they would take me there for my protection. I ended up staying for almost 2 months and because of some incredibly strong and amazing women, a tremendous amount of information sunk into my young impressionable mind.

Now 31 years later on September 17th 2009 I am going back to speak to the women in the Transitional Program ( a program that helps homeless women and their children create and begin a new life) in Ogden. I feel blessed that I never went back to the situation that almost ended my life, it has been brought to my attention that women return to their abusers anywhere from 7 to 10 times before they find the strength and courage to leave forever, and sadly for some unable to leave, their lives come to a tragic end.

From Ogden we will be going on to Boise, Idaho, back over to Colorado Springs, speaking in Taos, New Mexico, on to Oklahoma City, and then north...more to follow.