The Beacon Des Moines

Today, The Beacon administrative offices are closed in observance of Juneteenth.
Juneteenth commemorates the day in 1865 when the last enslaved people in the United States learned they were free.
It is a day to honor freedom, reflect on our history, and recognize that opportunity, safety, and belonging have not always been experienced equally.
At The Beacon, we believe every woman deserves dignity, stability, community, and the opportunity to build the future she wants.
Today, we encourage time for learning, reflection, celebration, and continued commitment to building stronger communities together.
Our administrative offices will reopen Monday, June 22, 2026 at 8:00 AM CST.
Need support in the meantime?
To apply for recovery housing, shelter, or permanent affordable housing, please complete our online application:
https://app.onestepsoftware.com/forms/AGq0VwA

What does graduation mean at The Beacon?

It means showing up.

Again and again.

It means choosing recovery on hard days and ordinary days.

It means continuing to move forward, even when growth is uncomfortable.

At The Beacon Sherman Hill, graduation is not based on perfection.

It reflects women who have remained engaged in their goals, committed to their growth, and continued building a foundation for long term stability.

During their journey, women work toward things like:

🌸Financial wellness and independence
Learning budgeting, paying bills, saving money, building routines, and preparing for long term housing stability.

🌸Health and daily living independence
Building sustainable habits, caring for physical and emotional health, maintaining responsibilities, and creating structure.

🌸Healthy community and relationships
Practicing connection, asking for help, setting boundaries, rebuilding trust, and learning to live in community.

🌸Accountability and personal growth
Showing up consistently, accepting feedback, keeping commitments, and continuing forward after setbacks.

🌸Emotional wellness and regulation
Building coping skills, increasing self awareness, managing stress, and learning new ways to respond instead of react.

🌸Stability and future planning
Creating goals around employment, housing, recovery, education, family reunification, and the life each woman wants to build.

This weekend, our community will gather privately at Hoyt Sherman Place with graduates, current residents, family members, and invited supporters to celebrate women who graduated from The Beacon Sherman Hill between June 2025 and June 2026.

Current women in the program will attend because hope matters.

There is something powerful about seeing women who once sat where they sit now creating stability, finding belonging, and building a future.

That is what graduation means.

Because change is possible.
And no woman should have to do it alone.

We’re looking for a Volunteer Coordinator! 🌸

The Beacon walks alongside women in crisis as they build stability, recovery, and independence. Our volunteers help make that possible, and we need someone special to help lead them.

This volunteer (unpaid) role is flexible and hybrid. You’d welcome new volunteers, lead training, help complete background checks, and coordinate volunteers for our activities.

We’re looking for someone responsive, kind, and professional. Someone we can trust to represent The Beacon and care for our community the way we do. Reliability matters more than experience.

Background check required. Training provided.

Interested? Email [email protected]. Be part of the change. 🌼

Last night, the women at The Beacon Sherman Hill gathered around a meal generously donated by Bob Stewart and the team at Bravo Italian Kitchen.

Meals like this do more than fill plates. They create a pause in the day. A chance to sit down together, catch up, laugh, check in, and simply be.

For women rebuilding after crisis, recovery, and housing instability, those ordinary moments matter.

Thank you, Bob, and thank you to Bravo Italian Kitchen for helping create a night that felt welcoming, steady, and supportive. We are grateful for your generosity and for investing in women as they build what comes next.

Interested in providing a meal for the women at The Beacon Sherman Hill?

Book a meal drop off in our bio link or here:
[email protected]" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://book.ms/b/[email protected]

One of our most used donation categories might surprise you: cleaning supplies.

At The Beacon, women are not just staying somewhere. They are rebuilding routines and practicing the everyday skills that help people get housed and stay housed.

Keeping a space clean is about more than chores. It can mean learning systems, creating structure, caring for shared environments, preparing for independent housing, and building confidence in maintaining a home of your own.

Every day we use items like:
• Paper towels
• Laundry detergent
• All purpose cleaner
• Dish soap
• Disinfecting wipes
• Trash bags
• Sponges
• Toilet cleaner

These simple items support 66 women across our housing programs as they work toward long term stability.

If you have been looking for a simple way to support The Beacon, we recently updated our Amazon Wish List with current needs (🔗 in bio)

Shop here:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/29RELW1IGXP8P

Small items. Long term impact.

Tonight, because of Julian Neeley and friends, women at The Beacon Sherman Hill shared a meal together.

Small moments matter. A warm meal after a long day can feel like care, consistency, and community.

Thank you, Julian, for investing in women rebuilding their lives and reminding them they are seen, supported, and not alone.

We are grateful for you.

Growth looks different for everyone.

A flower doesn’t bloom the day it’s planted.

It takes time. It takes care. It takes the right environment.

The same is true for healing.

Every day at The Beacon, women are working toward recovery, stability, and independence. Some are taking their first steps. Others are rebuilding after years of hardship. All are moving forward in their own way and in their own time.

Growth isn’t always loud. Sometimes it’s attending a meeting. Showing up for work. Rebuilding trust. Paying a bill. Asking for help. Believing in yourself again.

We are honored to walk alongside women as they create lives filled with hope, purpose, and possibility.

Over the weekend, we were reminded how quickly our community steps up when a need arises.

After several women experienced delays in accessing SNAP benefits, groceries began arriving almost immediately. We watched neighbors, supporters, and friends come together to help fill a temporary gap.

It was a beautiful reminder of what community can do.

It was also a reminder that unexpected challenges happen every day.

Sometimes it’s delayed benefits.
Sometimes it’s rising food costs.
Sometimes it’s an air conditioner that stops working during a heat wave.
Sometimes it’s a woman who needs a little more time, support, or stability than anyone anticipated.

These moments rarely make headlines, but they matter.

That is one of the reasons we created 26 for Her.

Monthly supporters help ensure The Beacon can continue providing safe housing, supportive services, recovery support, and the day-to-day stability that allows women to focus on healing and building their futures.

Because lasting change isn’t built in one moment.

It’s built day by day, one supported step at a time.

Learn more about 26 for Her: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/26forher

People often assume that recovery is built in the big moments.

The day someone enters treatment.
The day she gets housing.
The day she gets a job.
The day she graduates from a program.

Those moments matter.

But recovery is usually built in hundreds of smaller moments that happen in between.

It’s having groceries while waiting for benefits to arrive.
It’s having a safe place to sleep while rebuilding your life.
It’s having someone to call when things feel overwhelming.
It’s having enough stability to focus on tomorrow instead of just surviving today.

At The Beacon, we spend a lot of time in those in-between moments.

The moments that don’t make headlines.
The moments that don’t always fit neatly into a grant report.
The moments where a woman is simply trying to keep moving forward.

Those moments matter more than most people realize.

They are often where lasting change begins.

And they are only possible because a community chooses to show up.

Every volunteer hour, donation, partnership, meal, conversation, and word of encouragement helps create the stability women need to keep taking the next step forward.

Recovery is built one day, one choice, and one moment at a time.

Community ask 💛
We are currently in need of more conditioner and hair care products for women of color at The Beacon.
For many women rebuilding their lives, hair care is not “extra.” It is part of identity, confidence, self-care, and feeling like yourself again. Having products that actually work for your hair matters.
Current needs include:
• Conditioner
• Leave-in conditioner
• Moisturizing products
• Hair oils
• Products for textured, curly, coily, and natural hair
• Detangling and repair products
• General hair care essentials
New, unopened products are appreciated.
If you would like to help, items can also be shipped directly to us through our Amazon Wishlist (🔗 in bio) : https://a.co/0gKGLJi0