A word from the Chairman of the Board and founder of VeraMax House, Mike Dulworth:
Chairman’s Message
Mike Dulworth, Founder and Chairman of the Board
I became sensitized to the problem of older homeless women while walking each workday around the city’s Financial District. I saw so many women on the street asking for help that I stopped one day to speak to Sharon Wilkens. Sharon explained to me that women of this age group often fall between the cracks of the services provided by the city and other service organizations. She said that older homeless women do not feel safe in the shelters and are often easy targets for those that steal or wish to do harm. While I have a lot of sympathy and compassion for all homeless people, I felt particularly connected to this population because it just seemed to me that they are some of the most vulnerable people forced by circumstances to live on the street. So I (with a group of my friends) decided to try to do something about it and the formation of the VeraMax House for Older Homeless Women is the outcome of that effort.
As you’ll see in this blog, the VeraMax House is now a 501c3 not-for-profit and we’re attempting to raise funds to “hit the streets” to try to help these women – mainly through counseling and case management services. We also hope to raise money to fund the transition of older homeless women off the streets (e.g., an annual package of rent, food, clothing and other support services). And finally, in the future, we hope to build a permanent supportive housing facility for older homeless women. Our goal is to begin making a difference today, plus plan for and execute a broader vision in the future.
We hope you’ll help us with a donation (maybe in honor of your mother or grandmother). For your information, the name VeraMax is a combination of my two grandmother’s names — Vera Dulworth and Maxine Cross.
Sincerely,
Michael Dulworth
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