A year ago, Capitol Hill nonprofit Home Alive was struggling and eventually made the hard choice to shut down its space to try to keep going as an advocacy group and trainers for women’s self-defense. This week, the group announced it was shutting its organization down with a celebration on June 12th to mark the group’s 17 years of work. Home Alive was created in 1993 following the rape and murder of local singer Mia Zapata.
Here’s the e-mail we received from organizers announcing the decision — and the party:
Dear Capitol Hill & Home Alive Community,
The members of Home Alive’s Board of Directors, together with the
instructor collective, have decided to close as a 501(c)(3) organization
and to lay the Home Alive program dormant. We are throwing a party to
celebrate and commemorate our 17 years in the community, as well as to
look forward together to the ways we can carry on the work and spirit of
Home Alive. We hope you will be able to attend!
When: Saturday, June 12, 2010
Where: Hidmo, 2000 S Jackson St
Time: 7pm-midnight
What: Live music, food, a collaborative expressive arts opportunity, free
stuff! Please contribute to our celebration by showing up, listening and
sharing stories or memories about Home Alive. There will be open mic time
and we want to hear from you!
Who: YOU! Hidmo is ALL AGES until 11pm
(If you'd like to help out with the party, please contact us at the email
address below.)
As you may know, Home Alive closed our studio in the beginning of 2009 and
continued to operate at a very minimal capacity while we successfully paid
off our debt. On April 15, 2010, after weighing a variety of options over
the last several months, the instructors and board members of Home Alive
made the hard decision to discontinue operating as a 501(c)(3) non-profit.
While this means dissolving our assets, we intend to make as much of our
organization's amazing history and curriculum available as possible to the
community (mostly via our website, www.homealive.org). A few instructors
will remain available on a limited basis for consultations and workshops.
They can be reached at [email protected].
The awesome work and movement-building that Home Alive has been a part of
for many years continues to grow, and you can continue to support it!
Check out local and national organizations like the Northwest Network,
Creative Interventions, For Crying Out Loud, Feminist Karate Union, Seven
Star Women's Kung Fu, Generation 5, Chaya, Queer and Trans Jailstoppers,
Break the Silence, Communities Against Rape and Abuse, and Incite! Women
of Color Against Violence, among others. Also, Home Alive will be leading
a workshop at the US Social Forum in Detroit in late June.
We’re incredibly grateful for the support you've given us over the years.
Thank you for being a part of the Home Alive community, and we look
forward to seeing you on June 12!
Zapata’s July 7, 1993 murder was a mystery until the arrest of Jesus Mezquia in 2003. He was sentenced to 34 years in prison for the crime, had the conviction overturned on a technicality, and was re-sentenced again in 2009.
