An injured moth showed up at The Beacon while several residents were tending the garden. They set down their tools and gathered around to help. Writer: Abbey Tauchen Photographer: Annick Sjobakken When you step through the doors of The Beacon, you’ll hear children giggling, see women connecting ov er coffee or a game of spades, and catch the aroma of home-cooked meals wafting from the kitchen. Some days, a homemade birthday cake sits on the counter. You’re not simply entering a building. You’re stepping into a home where women feel safe and empowered to share their stories. For many women who walk through these doors, it’s the first time in years they’ve felt secure. To walk into The Beacon is to feel hope. Established in 1980, the local nonprofit provides a safe, supportive environment for women who have faced trauma, including homelessness, domestic and sexual abuse, human trafficking, addiction, systemic inequity and encounters with the criminal justice system. “We create an environment that empowers women who have been through immense trauma,” said Amy Landrigan, The Beacon’s executive director. “We work with them to not only achieve positive, long-term change, but to truly rewrite their story.” BAKING HOPE Amy Landrigan One of The Beacon’s most beloved traditions is the homemade cake each resident receives on her birthday. “Some of these women haven’t had a safe birthday before,” Landrigan said. “This is a birthday they can remember. It’s a very emotional moment.” The tradition began in early 2022 when volunteer Chelsey Houston started baking cakes for residents. She began recruiting friends to help and now distributes monthly cake requests to a team of volunteer bakers who are eager to pitch in. “You’re always somebody’s child,” volunteer Stephanie Green said. “Being able to tap into that feeling of ‘Mom made my favorite cake, and this is the best day ever’ — everybody loves that.” For volunteer Jackie Becker, The Beacon’s mission is personal. Her mother endured domestic violence for 22 years. “If I can support and encourage any woman in her shoes, I want to do that,” she said. “I want these women to know that they are important, that they matter, and that they’re not alone.” For more than a decade, cake has been the centerpiece of The Beacon’s annual fundraiser. This past November, the Cake Gala at Prairie Meadows drew more than 430 guests, featured 40 cakes and raised more than $160,000 to support the nonprofit’s mission. (This year’s gala is set for Nov. 6. Click here to read more.) “The Beacon, for me, really is hope,” Houston said. “It’s support and a second chance for many women to regain their livelihood.” WHERE HEALING BEGINS The Beacon operates a non-emergency shelter and transitional home in Sherman Hill with 34 beds, plus The Village, a permanent, affordable housing complex with daily on-site support on the city’s northeast side. Currently, about 65 women live under The Beacon’s care. Women in Sherman Hill participate in a program that lasts six to 24 months and focuses on eight dimensions of wellness: physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, occupational, financial, environmental and social, all defined by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. “We work holistically with these women to help them out of that survival mindset … and into what we call a thriving mindset,” Landrigan said. The Beacon partners with more than 50 organizations to help women obtain IDs, birth certificates, Social Security cards, legal and reliable income, and career support. Residents receive individual and group mental health counseling, healthy relationship courses and case management. They can also participate in various social activities. Women pay a low weekly fee to build at least six months of positive credit history, a requirement for Polk County housing applications. By graduation, residents must have at least $600 in savings, a reliable income, health insurance and six months of progress across the wellness dimensions. “By the time they leave, they are in a vastly different place, not only mentally but also economically, than when they came through our doors,” Landrigan said. Jessica Malmberg, a 2025 graduate of the program who previously struggled with alcohol, described the Sherman Hill home as a place to connect with women who understand each other. “You’re allowed to be yourself,” she said. “Some things we talk about, nobody else would understand.” SISTERHOOD AND SUPPORT Sherman Hill residents share four-person rooms with mentors, peers who have been in the program longer or have distinctive leadership qualities. “It is essential to have that community and sisterhood,” Landrigan said, “to start healing and rebuilding lives.” Sherman Hill’s communal kitchen allows women to cook together, support each other and share daily life. They can practice new skills, share a meal and just be themselves. “Everyone’s helping each other learn how to laugh and be happy not on drugs and alcohol,” Malmberg said. Eighty percent of residents are mothers, and 85% are working toward reunification. Meanwhile, kids can come hang out. At the Sherman Hill home, visiting hours run 8 a.m.-8 p.m. daily. The Village bridges the gap between recovery and long-term stability. Here, residents get together for Bible study, yoga, movie nights and games. “The community spaces at both locations represent the heart of our work: women healing in community, learning from one another, discovering that a home is more than a place. It’s belonging,” Landrigan said. “It’s a space to take a deep breath and heal.” Upon completion of the Sherman Hill program, some women join the graduate program, which reports an 85% success rate in preventing relapse or return to incarceration. At the Village, more than 30% of tenants are program graduates; others come from shelters or transitional homes. Residents learn to be successful tenants through leases, cleaning and apartment care. The Village provides therapists, recovery meetings and financial-literacy coaching. At The Beacon, residents can relax and make themselves at home. “You’re allowed to be yourself,” said Jessica Malmberg, left, preparing a meal in the kitchen. HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS Landrigan describes The Beacon as her second home. An early riser, she often arrives between 5:30 and 6:30 a.m. to drink coffee and talk with residents, sometimes staying late to play games and unwind. “I feel like I’m laughing with my sisters,” she said. “It’s a chosen family. It’s a safe family. And to me, The Beacon is home.” Malmberg said the place offers a sense of comfort and community. On her birthday, she chose an ice cream cake with Reese’s Pieces. As a graduate, she helps others through her work at a treatment center. Now that she’s reunited with her 2-yearold son, they “play, dance, sing, walk and just enjoy life,” she said. “He’s safe, he’s happy, and he’s back home with me.” The Beacon helped her rewrite her story. “It’s just a place to be safe,” she said. “If you’ve never felt safe before, you walk into those doors and you’re going to be shown nothing but love, safety and friendliness.” Contributing writer Abbey Tauchen is a Des Moines-based freelance writer, editor and marketing specialist whose work spans journalism, creative writing and brand storytelling. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. Annick Sjobakken is a Des Moines based photographer and educator. ...read more read less