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Winner of the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund - September 16, 2008
Linda Steele Honored with $5,000 Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund Award
September 16, 2008

New York, New York Resident Wins Cash Award To Support Program To Help Convicted Prostitutes Build A Better Life For Themselves


(New York, NY, September 16, 2008) - New York, New York resident Linda Steele, 48, is one step closer to fulfilling her dream of creating a better tomorrow for her community. Linda was named this week’s winner of the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund, a weekly $5,000 cash award program from Avon Products, Inc. to support individuals in their work to empower women. She is the third recipient of a Hello Tomorrow Fund award in New York since the program launched in 2007, and was selected by a newly expanded panel of judges that now includes Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York and actress Phylicia Rashad. Linda will use her award to support CHOICES, a program launched in 2007 by the Midtown Community Court in an effort to help women escape the life of prostitution and victimization, and empower them to build and lead productive, law-abiding lives.

The Midtown Community Court arraigns and handles all matters up to the point of trial for all prostitution related misdemeanors in the borough of Manhattan. In 2007 alone, the court arraigned 574 individuals who were arrested for receiving money for sexual acts. Of those 574, 340 were females, mainly under the age of 30. That staggering statistic is what prompted the Community Court to launch CHOICES as a means to provide important counsel and support for women who are arrested for prostitution. The program shows these women the many alternatives to prostitution and helps get to the root of the problem which lead them to this dangerous and destructive lifestyle, as 92% have suffered from childhood abuse, mainly sexual in nature. CHOICES helps women escape feelings of isolation and build positive relationships with other women to gain the confidence they need to escape the cycle of self-deprecation and victimization. Since the program’s launch, nearly 100 women have been served. When women enter into the CHOICES program, they plead guilty to their criminal charge, which enables them to attend mandatory therapy sessions, and perform community service instead of going to jail.

Linda has a very personal connection to CHOICES, as she herself is a survivor of the lifestyle of prostitution. At age 16, she left her home in Florida, moved to New York City and shortly thereafter, began to engage in criminal activity including drug and alcohol abuse. Through entering a 12-step recovery program, Linda not only began to rebuild her life as a sober individual, but also had the opportunity to interact with other women for the first time in her life. Linda credits those women with helping her to see that, “a man will not save you, you have to save yourself.” When she started working at the Midtown Community Court last July, Linda helped to launch CHOICES – a program that she credits as, “her calling in life.” Linda’s presence has been invaluable to the participants as she can empathize with their experiences, since she knows exactly what they are going through.

With support of the Hello Tomorrow Fund award, Linda will be able to add much-needed services to CHOICES. She will be able to hire a part-time clinician to provide intensive psychotherapy for the women and hold frequent luncheons where Linda will invite various successful women from the community to speak about their experiences in the hopes to inspire the members. “Tellingly, the most crucial thing I have done to empower women and improve society was to first empower myself.” Now Linda will be able to pay her good fortune forward by empowering women around her, facing similar obstacles as she once did, to grab hold of their own destiny and lead crime-free and fulfilling lives.

Linda’s winning application to the Avon Hello Tomorrow Fund met the criteria of clearly presenting unique and achievable objectives to empower women or girls and ultimately improve society. It was selected from a pool of strong contenders by an expert panel of judges, including personal finance expert Suze Orman, actress Phylicia Rashad, Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York, and experts in business and grantmaking. Linda grasps that that the most crucial thing she has done to empower women and improve society was to first empower herself. “She understands the key,” praised Suze Orman of Linda’s proposal.

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