Courageous Women Association, Inc.

Courageous Women Association is guided by equality, compassion, integrity, collaboration, and confidentiality as our core values. All of our programs are grounded and spring from these values and align with our vision to create a world free from violence, exploitation and homelessness. With this in mind, our priorities have been centered around The Courage House, a two-year transitional program designed to provide women and children impacted by trauma with a safe space to heal and grow.

Our home has truly been a safe haven and source of encouragement and strength and your collaboration has played a major role in the success of helping women heal from trauma. Unfortunately, our community engagement and educational programs were sacrificed initially due to funding and isolation protocols from COVID. They have remained inactive since 2020.

You can support our recovery and help us bring back our Sister-2-Sister Empowerment and Enrichment support groups for women recovering from trauma; Career Development & Economic Empowerment Program (CDEEP), our career preparation and workforce readiness program taught over a seven-week period; and our Shopping, Pampering, and Community Outreach Day (Day of Pampering), providing free life necessities, hot meals & groceries, and public resources. We're looking to raise a total of $150,000 with an initial goal of $24,000 to bring back these impactful programs.

CWA is committed to resuming these programs and services in the new year. We are excited about the future of 2025 and are grateful to have your support helping us make a greater impact on the lives of those affected by trauma.

Join Us in Empowering Courage: Annual Fundraiser Gala - Walk a Mile in My “Heals” for Courageous Women Association

Each year, the Courageous Women Association (CWA) unites supporters, survivors, community leaders, and changemakers to advance a powerful mission: to help women and children break free from cycles of violence, exploitation, homelessness, and systemic injustice—and to rise with strength, dignity, and purpose. As we launch our Annual Fundraiser, we invite you to become a part of this vital movement.

This year, our goal is ambitious yet deeply necessary: to raise $150,000 in support of our transformative programs and services that directly uplift survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking, sexual assault, and the overlooked realities of incarceration and homelessness. These funds are critical to sustaining and expanding the reach of our work, especially during times when the need is urgent and the resources are limited.

Founded in 2008, Courageous Women Association has stood as a beacon of hope for over a decade—offering transitional housing through The Courage House, career readiness and economic empowerment education, peer-to-peer healing through Sister-to-Sister support groups, and restorative care events like A Day of Pampering. Each initiative is designed to encourage healing, inspire independence, and empower lasting change.

But we cannot do this alone.

This fundraiser is more than a call for generosity—it’s a call for action. When you give, you are directly contributing to a woman’s journey from trauma to transformation. You are helping to provide a warm bed to someone escaping violence. You are funding job training that opens doors to new futures. You are making it possible for a mother to provide a safe, stable life for her children. Every dollar becomes a brick in the foundation of someone’s new beginning.

We are calling on individuals, organizations, and businesses to stand with us. Whether you give $25 or $25,000, host a peer-to-peer fundraiser, sponsor an event, or become a corporate ally—your involvement is essential.

Together, we can raise $150,000 and reinvest it directly into the lives and futures of women and children who deserve a life of dignity, safety, and opportunity.

This is not charity. This is community. This is courage in action.

Join us. Share in the mission. Stand in solidarity. Because when women rise, communities rise with them.

The Courage House Transitional home is now just days away from the possible threat with closure just looming over us with no help in sight. Help us raise just $10,000 needed to keep our women housed another few months while we work around the clock to secure grant funding from the City of Oakland and other funders. We can't risk our women and children being displaced or going back into violent environments.

If 100 people gave only $100, we can meet our goal before the March 1st deadline, or we will be forced to leave our home. Help us save our home or our families will be forced back on the streets, or worse, back into violent situations.

Meet Marie, one of the beautiful and newest graduates of the Courage House Transitional home program. A butterfly who has transformed and we are so blessed to have been a part of her healing and rediscovery. Marie first came to us as an alum of our Career Development and Economic Empowerment Program in 2019. Soon life happened and she entered our transitional home program having to make the necessary changes and receive the support and tools needed to help her become fully self-sufficient. She found hope and meaning again and a new sense of self-worth.

In her own words, Marie says: “Being a d.v survivor, not only did I learn to put words to my feelings, I started to forgive myself and learn that my past didn't have to no longer DEFINE ME. Toshonna would speak life into me and with that I was able to transform my mindset to become a better : woman and mother. Moving into the Courage House was a blessing for myself and my son. It was affordable, safe and a nonjudgmental environment I was able to continue my healing journey. Living with other survivors continued to encourage me to heal and use my voice because you never know who your story is helping. The weekly meetings although sometimes hard because I didn't want to dig deep, was well needed and appreciated, having different facilitators was empowering to hear their stories and know if they can move past their pain and live successfully, SO CAN I. I also gained the knowledge of how important it is to take care of me, focus on me, love on me, and develop habits and be intentional with everything I do and say. Once I received my notice that I was approved for housing, Toshonna was very supportive and made sure I had everything in order to prepare for that move. I truly believe Toshonna is living in her purpose: Her heart is truly in her work. She is patient, loving, Considerate, and intentional. I look forward to continuing to attend the meetings at the courageous house… Ms. Marie B.

Stories like Marie’s are what make the greatest impact on the work we do to keep women safe and help them heal from violent environments. This is why we must keep the Courage House going. Without your ongoing support, we will continue to be close to the threat of closing our doors forcing our residents back into dangerous situations. Help us to continue providing a safe place where survivors can come to heal and be supported.

Hello, my name is Toshonna Ross, and I am the founder of Courageous Women Association (CWA) and Courage House, a home for women and children in the San Francisco Bay Area who are impacted by domestic violence, homelessness, human trafficking, sexual assault, incarceration, and addiction. Up to 14 women and children can be housed for two years with support services that provide a safe space for them to fully heal from trauma.

 

Today, 14 women and children are living in a place where they feel safe. But unless we raise $22,400 by June 15, we will lose Courage House. We have less than three months to ensure these women and children keep their home.

 

 

During the past 14 years, CWA has helped more than 1,000 women and children a year by providing support and services such as food, clothing, shelter, counseling, and career development. Two years ago, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, I opened Courage House to fill a desperate need for safe housing and around-the-clock support for the women we serve.

 

Courage House supports women without judgment, shame, blame, or guilt. That’s because I know firsthand the trauma they have experienced.

 

Many years ago, when I was in my early 20s, I was almost murdered by my partner. This moment was the culmination of years of trauma, including rape, homelessness, and child abuse. I realized later that at a young age, I had even been groomed for sex trafficking. Through the grace of God and the help of women who have since become like surrogate mothers to me, I am here today. And today, I am paying that gift forward. But I need your help because our community is at risk.

 

 

Your Gift Changes Lives

 

Courage House residents receive counseling through our Sister2Sister support groups, create life plans and set goals through our 1:1 case management program, and get much-needed help finding safe and affordable permanent housing, jobs, and direct access to other resources as needed.

 

In the short two years since opening the Courage House, we have received more than 100 applications and have housed a total of 16 women and 4 children, of which 85% have found employment, 40% have moved on to permanent housing, 10% (so far) have regained full custody of their children, and 13% have furthered their education.

 

 

Why We Need Your Help Now

 

Like so many in the Bay Area, we struggle with the incredibly high cost of rent and have the added challenge of unstable employment for some of our residents, who contribute a portion of their incomes to our housing expenses. We have fallen on hard times, and it has been challenging to sustain our home.

 

WITHOUT YOUR HELP: We could lose our home in a matter of just two months, and our residents risk returning to the traumas that they have worked so hard to put behind them.

 

WITH YOUR HELP: We will continue to provide shelter, safety, and judgment-free support to women and children just like me.

 

These women can’t do it without us. And we can’t do it without you. That’s why our motto is Encourage, Inspire, and Empower.

 

THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS YOU!

 

--Toshonna Ross, Founder and Executive Director, CWA

 

LEARN MORE:

If you would like more info about our work or know a woman who would benefit from the support we provide, please visit https://www.courageouswomen.org