`A displaced homemaker is someone who has lost her source of financial support through death, separation, divorce or illness of a spouse,” says Rena C. Trevor, a displaced homemaker (see below).
A displaced homemaker is a dislocated worker: She has lost her job as homemaker through no fault of her own and suddenly is thrown into today`s competitive work force, usually with rusty skills or none at all.
There are more than 11 million displaced homemakers in the U.S., according to the Illinois Women`s Agenda. Some 300,000 are served annually by displaced homemaker centers.
In Illinois, there are some 632,000 displaced homemakers. The state has funded 12 centers, which are able to serve only 1,900 homemakers each year.
Handling grief and financial problems and looking for a job can be overwhelming. ”But there is hope, and our aim is to help these women reach their full potential and become financially independent,” says Cynthia Moehrlin, director of Elgin Community College`s displaced homemaker center.
”They are not alone.”
– Sulema Salgado.
Age 32, customer service representative, Bay Furniture Co., Hoffman Estates.
”In 1983, my husband left and I had to support my three children,” says Salgado, a former displaced homemaker.
”I had no car, no job and was on public aid. I was depressed. I`d lost my self-respect. When I`d use food stamps, people looked at me. I wanted to support my family, but I didn`t know how.”
After she was married, Salgado went back to school at night for two years to complete her high school degree. ”I wanted that diploma so much,” she says.
After her divorce, she worked ”little part-time” jobs that didn`t pay much. ”But every time I got a job, I was cut off public aid.”
In 1985, Salgado looked for help. ”A friend of mine worked at Centro Informacion, a resource center for Hispanic Women. She told me to talk to the people at Elgin Community College. I hoped they could show me the way to go.” And they did: ”They were nice to me. They offered help. I told them I had a place to live, but I needed more education to be able to support my family.”
Salgado got individual counseling and support. Her skills were tested.
”I could type, add, read and write. I was intelligent!” she says.
The center helped her enroll in office training classes at Elgin High School, a 36-week program. She went days while her children were in school.
”I did terrifically,” Salgado says. ”I learned a lot about myself, that I`m organized and qualified in accounting.”
The customer service representative finished training in l986, worked at an insurance firm and then applied-by herself-for her present job. ”I earn $5.50 an hour and am starting to support my family,” she says proudly. ”I have a future. I want to go to college.”
She advises getting help. ”We`ve all been through so much; we need it.” – Lorraine DuPont Shriver.
Age 52, owner, Chouette Interior Designs, Inc., Lake Forest.
Shriver, a former displaced homemaker, found her sense of self-worth by herself.
”I was married for 25 years to an alcoholic,” says Shriver, an interior designer.
”I finally left him in 1983 and moved with my three children from a large home to a small townhouse. But six months before I left, I started my own business-at the age of 47! I had to put bread on the table.”
An English major with a degree from Northwestern University, Shriver never had worked for money. ”I was a good corporate wife. I moved with my husband five times. Every time we sold a house, we`d get double our money because of the way I had decorated it. That`s how I knew I had a marketable talent.”
Past president of a chapter of the American Association of University Women and active in the League of Women Voters, Shriver drew on her volunteer associations for customers and support.
”I remember all the critical decisions that were demanding resolution at that time. I had to support my family. I had to put a new roof over their heads. I had to feed them. I had to be emotionally and physically capable of caring for them.
”I couldn`t afford the indulgence of even a five-minute crying jag, much less a breakdown! I got a line of credit, sent out announcements and within two weeks starting making money.”
Sessions with a psychologist helped her regain confidence, Shriver says, and so did her business success. ”I`ve doubled my income each year. My daughter, Lisa Parks, is my superb executive assistant. I also have two other assistants and three designers.”
The interior designer says she hopes ”women who have lost everything in the prime of life can look into themselves and gain their self-worth. Just because you`re out of your job as wife, don`t think of yourself as a failure.”
– Rena C. Trevor.
Age 61, coordinator of the women`s program and director of Project Turning Point, Harper College, Palatine.
Trevor, widowed in l979 with four children, says the way she got back on her feet again was ”ironic.” Her work as head of the college`s displaced homemaker`s center helped her regain confidence.
In 1974, the former full-time homemaker and journalist got her first job after her children`s births, accepting a position as head of Harper College`s women`s program, which she had helped start as a volunteer. Her husband`s salary, however, was the main source of family income-until he became ill and died.
”The day after my husband`s funeral, I came back to work, and there on my desk was a proposal for a displaced homemaker`s center!” Trevor remembers. ”I was displaced because before my husband`s death, he had lost his job and been ill. My salary at the time wasn`t enough to support the family.”
Despite her grief and sense of emptiness, Trevor went to work to set up the center, funded by the Illinois Legislature. (In 1980, six such programs were established in the state with $300,000 in general revenue monies.)
”We started with a bang,” the director says. ”The first year we had 290 displaced homemakers. Now we have 350 and a budget of $120,000.”
Trevor reports that Harper`s center, an on-going program with counseling and classes, has helped some 2,500 women over the years. ”Most now work in gainful employment, which means they`re making enough money to live on. Others are finishing their degrees.”
She says what kept her going was: ”I had a goal, one I felt strongly about. Look at my own experience and at what I was doing!”
Trevor advises displaced homemakers not to give up. ”Women can learn to be financially independent,” the director emphasizes. ”There`s help available and it does work. Displaced homemakers have tremendous potential, a great deal of experience to draw on.
”They just don`t know it.”
Send comments and ideas for future questions to Carol Kleiman, The Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611.
