Striving for Better

To become a client of Room to Rebloom, the women must already have their own housing, whether it’s a one-bedroom home or an apartment. Furthermore, they must be referred by an organization or program that provides domestic violence survivors with emergency and transitional services and other resources that may come in handy during this difficult time in their lives.

“Without these services, many women end up returning to the abusive relationship, and we need to be sure that a client is stable before we can invest our resources,” McKitrick said. “Once she’s ready for independent housing and has found an apartment, that’s when she is referred to us and we assign one of our designers to work with her.”

Part of Room to Rebloom’s success has to do with the fact that several companies donate furniture, home décor, paint and other much-needed materials. The companies include Ikea, Sherwin Williams, House of Ruth, and the American Society of Interior Designers.

In a way, the newly-designed homes serve as the final step for these women to be able to go on and live the life they’ve always wanted and more importantly, the life they deserve.

“Everyone deserves good design. And the people who need it the most don’t know they don’t have well-designed spaces, they don’t know how to ask for it and they don’t get it,” Weatherspoon said. “You can’t put a dollar amount on how creating these spaces can make people [want to] strive for something better just by putting them in an environment that’s outside their norm.”

About the Author: Princess Gabbara is a Michigan-based journalist and freelance writer (Ebony, Essence, etc.). You can read more of her work on her blog. She also tweets @PrincessGabbara.

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