Crittenton Women's Union transforms the course of low-income women's lives so that they can attain economic independence and create better futures for themselves and their families.

ADVOCACY: As part of an organization-wide approach, our Advocacy Department is leading an educational campaign across all CWU programs and services to ensure that each of our clients has the opportunity to voice individual needs, influence public policy, and address larger system change.

CAREER FAMILY OPPORTUNITY: Career Family Opportunity (CFO) is a pilot program of Crittenton Women's Union that helps single parents build the foundation essential to achieving economic independence. This five-year program allows participants—called Career Family Organizers or CFOs— to proceed at their own pace as they gain the skills, knowledge and habits of a stable future.

EDUCATION: CWU is dedicated to helping at-risk youth achieve self-sufficiency through education. Our Youth GED Program is an intensive, supportive learning environment for at-risk young adults, who have dropped out of school and wish to pursue a GED, with a focus on individualized college and career exploration goals.

FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES: Our award-winning Healthy Families program support at-risk families as they move towards self-sufficiency through parenting education, early literacy, and health and wellness support. We help young parents manage life crises, promote family stability, and maintain a home environment that supports early childhood learning.

HOUSING: We offer emergency and transitional housing as well as permanent housing search and placement to homeless families. In addition to providing safe and supportive living environments, we offer intensive case management services to assist each family transform their lives and develop the skills they need to move towards long-term self-sufficiency.

RESEARCH & INNOVATION: We are dedicated to understanding what it takes to reach economic self-sufficiency, and to using that knowledge to inform program design and social change. We work directly with our clients and direct-care staff to determine best practices for program and policy efforts, as well as to analyze wider labor market data, trends, and projections.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT: Woman to Woman (WtW) is a Career Development and Mentoring Program for low-income women in the Greater Boston area offering career counseling, skill development, computer literacy training, and professional mentoring to empower participants to become self-sufficient.

Crittenton Women's Union takes a unique, pioneering approach to helping low-income women attain economic independence and create better futures for themselves and their families.

In one organization, we combine direct service programs, independent research and public advocacy. Each area informs and intersects with the work of the others, fostering a flexible, dynamic and creative environment that produces measurable results.

At CWU, we strive to transform individual lives and to achieve broad-based system change through innovation, collaboration and commitment.

Crittenton Women's Union touches many lives each and every year. In 2008 alone, here are just a few of our accomplishments:

- 80 students participated in our GED classes.

- 40 students took part in our CHANCES program—our partnership with Boston Public Schools to provide alternative schooling for young pregnant women.

- 70 women enrolled in our Woman to Woman program—our technology, professional and mentoring program that helps low-income women develop career plans.

- 190 families were housed at Hastings House—our Brighton homeless shelter.

- 70 families were served in Community Housing—our citywide homeless facilities.

- 30 families were served at Horizons Housing Program—our transitional housing and confidential, support services for homeless, battered women and their children.

- 70 families were served by our Assessment Center—our short-term housing program for clients awaiting placement.

- 130 families were served by our FLASH program—our home literacy program for low-income and homeless children and parents.

- 190 families were served by our Healthy Families program—our parenting education and wellness support program for first-time mothers.

- 114,850 meals were provided to participants in our programs.

- 19 CWU case managers developed service plans, budget plans, and economic self-sufficiency plans for CWU clients.

- 60 clients and staff comprise the CWU Voices Advocacy Council and set strategic priorities, testified at public hearings, and educated legislators about the obstacles that low-income women face in attaining economic independence.

- 2 significant policy briefs were produced by CWU’s Research and Advocacy Departments and available in our "Reports" section