By Ashley Mackin | SDUN Editor

For 70 years, the Big Sister League of San Diego has worked diligently to improve the lives of women in the community.

District 5 Councilmember Marti Emerald said she knows first-hand the deeds of the organization asset, noting that her daughter, who was diagnosed bi-polar, stayed briefly at the League’s Frances Woods House.

Emerald said the Big Sister League helped her daughter through “the most difficult time of her life.”

“This is a big piece of the network of services and protection for women who are vulnerable, who have mental health issues, that just need a loving safe place to be,” Emerald said.

“I know that as long as programs like this exist, other daughters, other sisters [and] other mothers will find hope and a second chance, so thank you for what you do every single day,” she said, adding that seventy years is a great milestone.

The Big Sister League of San Diego celebrated their 70-year anniversary of service to women in the community and received a proclamation from the City. Councilmembers Emerald and Todd Gloria presented the League with a proclamation designating April 2, 2012 as “Big Sister League of San Diego Day” in San Diego, signed by all the City Councilmembers.

“I am really honored to be part of this proclamation,” Emerald said.

Gloria, the Council District Three representative, said he was impressed the Big Sister League has stayed in the same location for 70 years. Named for the organization’s founder, the League’s Frances Woods House is located at 115 Redwood St. in Hillcrest.

“I love this organization because I think it’s really reflective of the district I get the opportunity to represent, where there [are] really kind and compassionate people who want to help our neighbors out,” Gloria said.

Frances Woods, a suffragist, started the organization in the 1940s with the original purpose of providing a space for women who had been jailed for breaking curfew laws. In 1942, the year the League began, laws stated any unescorted woman on the street after 10 p.m. would be arrested. Woods arranged with the local sheriff to provide beds for the arrested women, if the sheriff released them into her care.

As laws changed, the organization evolved to serve as a temporary care facility for women with mental illnesses. Nakosha Embry, executive director of Big Sister League, said the purpose of the organization today is to teach life skills such as cooking, showering and taking medications properly, with the end goal of re-integrating participants into the community.

Embry said the April 2 event helped to inform the community of their services. “It’s letting everyone know this is a safe place for women; [and is available] for more women to come and live here and take more steps to get back into the community,” she said.

Embry said nine women are currently living at the Frances Woods House, though it can hold up to 15. There is also a Big Sister League house in Bankers Hill, located at 3360 Fourth Ave. that can also accommodate 15 women.

Residents can stay up to 18 months at the Frances Woods house and up to three years at the Bankers Hill location, Embry said. However, she added, “As long as they [need] us, they can stay.”

In honor of the 70th anniversary, the San Diego Roofing Contractors Association donated time and materials to replace the roof of the Hillcrest house.
Additionally, throughout the month of April, the Big Sister League has partnered with San Diego restaurants to fundraise for the program. For example, Slater’s 50/50 will be participating on April 16. By visiting bigsisterleague.org, participants can view participating restaurants and dates. Visitors must download and print the program’s flier and take it into the participating restaurants on the corresponding date to participate.

If the flier is presented on that date, 20 percent of the purchase will go to the Big Sister League.