Beautylish Lucky Bags are coming—it’s finally time for some good fortune.
Inspired by the Japanese custom of fukubukuro , Beautylish has been offering Lucky Bags filled with a mystery combo of makeup and skincare for nearly a decade. And for the past two years, we’ve made it an act of giving back by offering Get One, Give One Lucky Bags. Every time someone checks out with the Get One, Give One Lucky Bag in their cart, we’ll donate a surprise-filled Lucky Bag to an organization that serves the Bay Area community on their behalf.
This year, Get One, Give One Lucky Bags will be adorned with the Japanese character 暁 (akatsuki) , meaning “dawn” or “daybreak” to symbolize new beginnings. It’s only fitting that our 2021 Lucky Bags will be donated to La Casa de las Madres (The House of Mothers), a San Francisco-based refuge that empowers domestic violence survivors to help them transform their lives and start anew.
According to NCADV.org, over 10 million people per year experience physical abuse by an intimate partner, and 1 in 4 women are affected in the United States. With stay-at-home orders enacted to stop the spread of COVID-19, at-risk women and children are struggling even more to find safe havens.
La Casa de las Madres responds with around the clock care.
“We’re ramping up in response to a greater need during the pandemic,” said Jessica Nixon, Development Associate at La Casa de las Madres.
“Our shelter has case managers and advocates managing our hotline at all times. It’s crucial because domestic violence is affecting folks 24/7, 365 days a year and it doesn’t stop.”
Since its founding in 1976, La Casa provides hands on support and comfortable dwellings for domestic violence victims of all ages, and the organization continues to expand and evolve its services.
“On different levels we provide safety and support for folks,” said Nixon, “Our shelter is the most obvious, providing physical shelter for folks to have a moment to plan for what their next safe steps are going to be after fleeing a violent relationship or situation.”
Due to the coronavirus outbreak, La Casa is now divided into pod structures where individuals or family units needing emergency refuge receive their own room and bathroom without having to share communal spaces.
“Our shelter program’s goal is to provide shelter for families for up to 8 weeks,” said Nixon. “During COVID we have been extending everyone’s stay to provide additional support, while also making sure they’re making progress towards their goals.”
In addition to immediate crisis response via their text line, confidential hotline and shelter intakes, La Casa offers a multitude of support services, including safety planning and risk assessment, counseling, support groups, and additional housing assistance for women, teens, and children.
La Casa believes that education stops the cycle of violence to kick-start the healing process, ushering in new beginnings.
“We work from an empowerment based model, making sure that we’re not telling a survivor what they should do, but we’re giving them the tools and resources they need to make the decision for what’s best for them,” said Nixon. “We’re making sure that throughout the process that they’re able to gain…all those very critical pieces to making sure that they have a safe and healthy life outside of the violent relationship.”
The organization also engages the community through outreach aimed at expanding public awareness of domestic violence and its survivors.
“The stories of folks being able to come into shelter and have already exited shelter with permanent housing and a steady 40-hour job, able to support their children on their own, especially through the pandemic, has been really amazing to see and hear about from our advocates,” said Nixon.
This year, La Casa will distribute Beautylish’s Lucky Bag donations to victims entering the shelter, individuals accessing support services at the drop-in center, support group attendees, and more.
“Anyone that we’re working with on a monthly basis will receive one of these awesome bags,” said Nixon.
“It goes back to empowerment, giving them something really nice and kind of a luxury item for a lot of folks to be able to pamper themselves, and kind of have that confidence. It’s a nice treat that a lot of these women are not receiving outside of La Casa’s support, and it’s just a very powerful thing.”
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* This article was originally published here
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