While volunteering for the St.Vincent De Paul Society, Victoria Sharp met several women struggling to meet their needs. Although each had their own unique situation, Vicki began to see a pattern among these women. They were all alone, isolated from the world, and living in fear. They lacked an education and support of any kind to better their lives. These women were scared, angry, depressed, and often the victims of abuse. And above all, these women not only had to fend for themselves, they also had to provide what little they could for their children who they were raising without the help of a father.
Vicki realized that although these women had options available to help them with living expenses, medical costs, and food purchases; these programs did very little to help lift these families out of poverty. They also do little to support the spiritual and emotional well-being of these women as they struggle daily to survive in an often dangerous environment.
In response, Vicki and her husband Jack founded Women In Charge in 1992, an organization devoted to empowering women to move one step at a time toward independence. Women In Charge is a safe and nurturing environment offering a variety of programs created to meet the emotional, social, educational, and career ambitions of the women throughout the St. Louis Metropolitan area.
Here, women are inspired to heal their hearts and spirits and take charge of their future to make a better life for their families. We offer Adult Education, GED preparation, individual and group counseling, parent mentoring, yoga, computer classes, and several others including an on-site children’s program to participants. Women In Charge is a mind, body, spirit program that truly helps every woman attain her full potential and become an active self-supporting member of society. In 2022, Women In Charge expanded our literacy program to help men and women who are seeking to improve their English language skills through basic ESL classes.
