This story comes from Andy Ternay, who has been writing and blogging about this situation to help the Pretty Bird Woman House, a woman’s shelter raise enough money to rebuild. The shelter was kept open by donations from the online community last May, and recently it was ravaged by arson and ruined. The shelter is on the Standing Rock reservation, part of the Lakota Native community.
The community and the shelter have a long history that you can read about here, but the bottom line is that they need more money to reach their goal of $70,000 that they need for the house and security system. They are more than half way there, and today Andy and others are pushing for the last portion. See the bottom for how to donate.
Here is an exerpt from his post about the shelter:
A frightened woman on the Standing Rock Reservation feels her pregnant belly and checks the weather. It’s below freezing. Should she stay and get beaten again or flee? There’s no money for a hotel. She can’t stay but she can’t risk the lethal cold.
She has called Pretty Bird Woman House women’s shelter, but their building was destroyed by arson. They have no place for her. Georgia Little Shield, Director of Pretty Bird Woman House promised to try shelters on neighboring reservations and see if there was room. The woman feels the baby kick as she stares at the phone, not daring to hope. It rings.
“It’s Georgia,” says the lady on the phone.
“There’s room in another shelter?” asks the woman.
A long silence follows,then Georgia says, “We’ll work something out. Let’s get you safe. Okay?”
Another Christmas; and a expectant mother with nowhere to go. But there is good news: The ending to this story has not been written. You will write the ending.
Georgia Little Shield can’t keep pulling miracles out of thin air. She needs help and we can give it. This is all about what we fight for: giving power to the powerless. Helping women and minorities gain equal treatment. Making wrongs right.
As it stands, we have just over $50,000. Enough that Pretty Bird Woman House is putting in a bid on a house across the street from the police station. We are almost there, just a mere $20,000 short. I told you that the ending had not been written for this Christmas story; now is the time we write that ending. Will the expectant mother find a sanctuary or not?
Now is your chance to write that ending. Now is your chance to give sanctuary, not just to this one hypothetical woman, but to thousands of women, throughout the years that Pretty Bird Woman House will serve this community. Let’s make this ending a happy one.
So, please, if you can DONATE.
Pretty Bird Woman House is a 501 (c) 3 charitable organization.
Don’t do it if you can’t afford it ‐ only if you can. There are other ways you can help, if you can’t donate or if you want to do more.
You can blog about it and spread the word. Feel free to take any material from this diary or the Pretty Bird Woman House Blog that you need.
Finally, for those of you who need more info, here are Links:
Pretty Bird Woman House Blog – many more resources and links here!!
Why traditional fundraising avenues are closed to Pretty Bird Woman House
One important final note: men are also victims of domestic violence. Since we are discussing a women’s shelter, the examples I have given are of men abusing women. I don’t want to detract from male victims; they too deserve recognition and support. This isn’t about hating men; it’s about helping people.
Thank you so much for your generosity and kindness this holiday season. Blessings to you and yours.
Radical Doula 
Thank you so much for being a part of this!!
I’ll make sure to pass this info along.