(Nov. 14, Baltimore, MD) “In a place, city, world, where too often people feel alone, I am grateful there is My Sister’s Place,” said Alicia Wilson as she addressed supporters of My Sister’s Place Women’s Center at its annual breakfast.
Wilson, a Baltimore native, serves as the senior vice president of Impact Investments and senior legal counsel for Port Covington Impact. She generously gives of her time, talent and treasure to help many organizations throughout the city.
“I got to thinking about what it means to be someone’s sister,” said Wilson. “When you call someone your sister, you’re saying, ‘You’re not alone.'”
She shared her personal reflection on a passage in the Biblical Book of Ruth, in which Ruth tells Naomi, her mother-in-law, “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people.”
Wilson’s assessment of the center rang true for Lavetta Ricks, a kitchen program assistant at My Sister’s Place for the past two years who powerfully and poignantly described her harrowing struggle with addiction and homelessness, the anguish of a breast cancer diagnosis during her addiction recovery, and her life as it is today.
“After surviving breast cancer, I began my journey to harness 30 years of addiction, and I gained support and job training through the culinary program at My Sister’s Place,” she said. “Due to the support and services I received, I am now three years, 11 months and 14 days clean and sober.”
The room erupted in applause.
For the women served at My Sister’s Place, connection and safety are lifeblood. The center shared more than 70,000 meals in fiscal year 2018. Between the Women’s Center and the Lodge, 54 women found housing. Its day programs provide safe shelter, enrichment, job and skills training, personal services like a permanent mailing address—often required for employment—and more.
“It became clear to me that to be someone’s sister is not only based upon parentage, but you share an experience,” Wilson summarized. “It’s a relationship where you can trust and rely upon this person. My Sister’s Place does this. It is more than a casual acquaintance. The relationships at the Center offers solid support and fellowship through meals, internships and shared activities.”
The annual breakfast celebrates the work of My Sister’s Place Women’s Center and its commitment to assisting women in need. The center is open 365 days a year, seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
