New women's center in the works New women's center in the works (April 16, 2004)

Supervisor Kniss warns funds are scarce

By Grace Rauh

When the YWCA closed its doors in Palo Alto last year, women's groups throughout Silicon Valley lost a vital gathering spot and a place to call their own.

Now a coalition of women's groups, brought together by the Women's Action Network, is clamoring for the creation of a women's center that they say will connect women across the county, provide an array of services -- from child care to health information -- and give women's groups a place to meet.

"Our vision is to create a community-based, self-sustaining center," said Gayle Tiller, who is spearheading the campaign with the Women's Action Network, a Silicon Valley-based umbrella organization that connects local women's groups. "This is a much needed space and it makes sense."

Tiller presented her group's initial plans for the first time to the Santa Clara County Commission on the Status of Women on Monday at Mountain View City Hall. Although the commission was not scheduled to formally endorse the proposal at the meeting, several commissioners pledged their support.

But not all women welcomed the kick-off effort with open arms. County Supervisor Liz Kniss, whose district includes Mountain View, gave enthusiastic supporters a dose of fiscal realism and warned them not to look to cities and counties for funding since both are strapped for cash.

"I feel like such a wet blanket tonight," Kniss said. "Be aware of the times that you are in."

She urged those involved to be creative when looking for funding and to understand the costs inherent in running a women's center.

"And just remember, women can do anything," she said.

The network plans to create a center that will unite some of the several hundred nonprofit organizations in the county that work with women. Tiller anticipates the center will reach women across the economic and ethnic spectrum and connect with everyone from low-income earners to business leaders. She hopes the building will provide services like a childcare center, health information, workshops and trainings, a hostel and lectures. Tiller said she could not estimate the building's cost yet.

A future women's center would also provide space for nonprofit organizations to meet, a hot commodity for groups with minimal funds.

Autumn Bea, a member of the Sunnyvale-Cupertino branch of the American Association of University Women, said her group can't find regular, affordable meeting places. This weekend they lucked out and are holding an event in a local church for free.

"I would go for it because I think it is important," Bea said of the plans for a center. "But I know it is so costly."

Although there is currently no women's center in Silicon Valley, few cities and counties nationwide boast women's buildings, according to Kathleen Cordova, a member on the county's commission. Most are located on college and university campuses including San Jose State and Stanford University.

The Women's Building in San Francisco, a colorful, mural-covered hub of activity in the Mission District, is an exception to that trend, and Tiller hopes to have a local building based on that model in the county by 2009.

"Thousands of women have been empowered" by the building in San Francisco, Tiller said. She believes a local center can empower thousands more.

For more information on the Women's Action Network's plans to create a women's center, visit www.womensactionnetwork.org.

E-mail Grace Rauh at grauh@mv-voice.com

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