Meet Tammy Abernethy of Hope Women’s Center

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tammy Abernethy.

Tammy, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I joined Hope Women’s Center in 2013 as Executive Director/CEO. At that time, the stand-alone center I was managing in Phoenix merged with Hope Women’s Center and we went from one Center to three (Phoenix, East Valley, and Coolidge).

From the moment I heard about Hope Women’s Center I was drawn to their mission and vision of working with women and teens facing difficult life situations (abuse, poverty, single parenting, unplanned pregnancy, job loss, mental health struggles, substance abuse, etc.) with a holistic approach to meet their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.

Having raised my children from the ages of 18 months and five years old as a single mother, following the end of an abusive marriage. I understood well the insecurities, hopelessness, and fear that parenting in crisis can bring and the healing from trauma and abuse that is required for a woman to move forward with positive changes in her life for both she and her children.

While I was blessed to walk my journey within a community of friends, family, and faith, my heart was burdened for women & families that were doing this alone – without community, healing from painful relationships, or an understanding of resources available to help.   I LOVE that we get to engage women exactly where they are when they come to one of our centers. To encourage them to see HOPE for their future, to equip them with tools to make positive changes and re-discover their unique God-given talents and worth, and to love them unconditionally as we walk the journey with them to transformation – both inside and out.

Since 2013, Hope has now added a 4th Center (West Valley) and in 2018 we are opening our 5th Center in the City of Maricopa.

Has it been a smooth road?
Growing a non-profit in a healthy, sustainable way, definitely has its own set of challenges! From funding to building the right team, to managing over 150 volunteers monthly, to meeting the increasing needs of the community we serve – we have definitely learned some lessons along the way!

I would say one of the key lessons we learned and believe strongly in is that “We are Better Together.” Forming partnerships with other organizations who are serving in the communities where our centers are located has been essential to our growth and ability to better serve the community’s needs. We don’t need to duplicate what someone else is doing well. We have found it better to come alongside and serve together, each bringing our organization’s strengths and collaborating together to better serve our community. This has become a key value for us as an organization. Seeking out partnerships and celebrating other organizations doing great work in our community.

Another lesson we have learned is to do what we do well and that means we are not going to be able to meet every need. That is where our strategic partnerships come in. We have a specific mission and vision and our focus is on doing that work with excellence and finding others doing their calling with excellence to partner with us.

Lastly, I would say we have worked hard to make sure we do not lose the “personal touch” that is so important to our mission. Every woman that walks through our door needs to know she is valued, safe, and her story matters. Our programs and growth and plans can never trump the importance and value of each individual client we serve.

On a personal note, leading a fast growing organization has definitely brought about challenges as I have needed to grow and stretch as a leader to keep pace! One of the things I love about our City is that there are amazing leaders doing great work that are willing to walk alongside others and help them grow. I am so grateful for those leaders that continue to walk with me and pour into me as a leader and woman in business!

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Hope Women’s Center – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Our mission at Hope Women’s Center is to engage, encourage, and equip women and teen girls facing any difficult life situation (domestic violence, poverty, abuse, unplanned pregnancy, single parenting, family conflict, mental health struggles, substance abuse, etc.).

We offer education and life skills programs that support the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of women and teen girls. All programs are free and participation accrues points, helping clients obtain needed material resources. Our wholistic approach engages women in thinking differently about themselves, encourages them to discover their true worth and value, and equips them with tools for making positive choices, breaking unhealthy patterns, and restoring broken relationships. From this perspective, the transformation of one at-risk woman has tremendous impact on her children, her family, and her community, and this is why the service footprint of our five locations continues to spread and increase across the state.

At Hope Women’s Center, our approach is unique in its wholistic nature and the importance placed on each individual woman or teen that enters one of our centers. We want her to know she is safe, she is heard, she is valued, her story matters and our team works closely with her to journey alongside her in the choices and changes she wants to make in her life.

We are also unique in that we are 90% volunteers, primarily from local churches and faith communities, that have a heart to love and serve the women and girls in their communities. Each Center has a similar structure that makes it a “Hope Women’s Center” but is able to adapt specific programming and classes to meet the needs of the women in those individual communities. Our urban center clients have different needs than our rural center clients, etc., and we strive to be flexible to meet each community’s individual needs.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I LOVE our City! I think Phoenix is a beautiful place to live and serve. The diversity of culture and community brings together varying strengths and allows for us to build strong foundations when we bring those strengths together.

We also have some tremendous non-profits here doing great work in building stronger communities. I think the Valley has one of the most collaborative group of non-profits I have ever seen.

I would say one of the challenges in living in a big community like the Greater Phoenix Area is how spread out we are. Often there are resources in one part of the Valley but not another, so it is difficult for women to access those resources without transportation. In some communities public transportation is available, but not in all of the communities where we serve.

Affordable housing in Phoenix and our outlying communities is another challenge we see as we work with women facing homelessness and struggling to find an affordable place to live, especially as single moms with children.

Pricing:

• All our services are free!

Contact Info:

• Address: Headquarters: Hope Women’s Center Phoenix, 1640 E. McDowell Road, Phoenix 85006.
  Other locations include East Valley (Apache Junction), West Valley (El Mirage), Coolidge, and the City of Maricopa (coming soon).
• Website: www.hopewomenscenter.org
• Phone: 602-715-0999
• Email: office@hopewomenscenter.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopewomenscenter/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hopewomenscenterphoenix/ (we have FB sites for each of our locations. This is the Phx one)
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/hopewomencenter
• Other: youtube.com/hope womens center

Image Credit:
Sadie Such Photography, Kaylee Chelsea Photography, LuCorp Marketing (social share squares)

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