Community

by Suzanne Wright

Barbara Gulesserian had the seed of an idea that is germinating into a powerful vision for Atlanta's female community. Gulesserian, a licensed clinical nurse specialist with a private practice in psychotherapy and hypnotherapy, wanted to create a place where women and girls could come together to seek individual and group services that would help foster creativity, growth and empowerment.

“I see Sacred Space as a connecting and centering force for our community,” says Gulesserian. “Atlanta has a number of wonderful support services for women and girls but they are separate and isolated from each other. Rather than competing with existing services, we want to provide a unifying presence, an accessible clearinghouse for tools and information a female might need during the different stages of her journey. We want to provide the spark that ignites women to search for growth, empowerment and connection opportunities.”

In early 1999, a Board of Directors for this non-profit, non-denominational organization was formed with such representation as health care practitioners, artists, business people, students and homemakers. Today, it numbers twelve; eventually, the Board will boast twenty-five people of diverse backgrounds. The Board is currently accepting resumes from individuals with experience in fundraising, marketing, teaching, visioning, program development, and grant writing to serve on The Board of Directors or The Advisory Board.

“We seek to represent on The Board and through our services, girls and women of diversity in race, faith, economic circumstance and sexual orientation,” says Gulessarian.

“We feel that women can grow and heal not just themselves, but their families and communities through their mutual support of the female experience.”

The Board has developed a preliminary list of classes, programs, support groups, mentoring and workshops, along with a plan for a library that will be housed at Sacred Space. A sample of topics includes: “Core Leadership Skills for Teens,” “Women's Sexuality Across the Lifespan,” “The Feminine Side of Power,” “Trans-Generational Sharing of the Experiences of Womanhood,” and “Different Yet the Same: Inter-Cultural Discussions.”

Researchers find that women grow and benefit in many ways when in connection with other women. This is true in many cultures and was routinely practiced when Americans were organized around a farming lifestyle. However, now women operate without consistent support and connection due to high mobility, work outside the home and new family forms. Success and power for women have been traditionally defined in masculine terms in our society. But there is power in the feminine aspect of women that can be healing to our world: qualities such as nurturing, creativity, sensitivity, and intuition.