Today I attended a wonderful Lunch at the United Methodist Church in the Esther Hall, 505 West Gurley which is on the corner of Summit and Gurley Streets.
Here is Chef Bryan! "Lunch With Chef Bryan" is to benefit Open Door which is a program of the Coalition for Compassion & Justice.
This lunch is donation only and the one thing I remember is here is gourmet dining for a donation which will help others. The more you give the more it helps our community.
This lunch was so much fun that I plan on attending as long as I am in town. I am looking forward to November 13 -- The menu has all of my favorites. 
All donations will help support the following CCJ services for low income residents of Yavapai County: Health and Safety Home Repairs, Rental and Utility Assistance, Hot Meals, Food Boxes, Diapers for Babies, Showers, Clothing Closet.
Come and join me in November! I am normally there right at 11. They serve from 11am.
Happiness is Joan Maloney modeling one of the original Penny's Purses. More on Penny's Purses tomorrow!
PENNY’S STORY
Much about Penny remains a mystery. She would not discuss her personal life. She had mental issues. But she was much more than the homeless woman who appeared each evening at Prescott’s temporary women’s shelter in the winter of 2008.
We know that she was talkative, sometimes argumentative and often entertaining. She enjoyed telling stories about herself: especially about her career in New York in Fashion. Nothing specific, just Fashion with a capital F. She had an eye for designer clothes and searched through the donated bags of clothing at the shelter for designer labels – sharing some of her finds with other women guests and volunteers at the shelter. “This vest is YOU, my dear,” to a volunteer who took a special interest in Penny.
If you saw Penny downtown during the day, often in a coffee shop, it would not be apparent that she was homeless. A character, yes, but homeless, no. Dressed stylishly, her makeup carefully applied to her tanned and weathered face each morning before leaving the shelter, a scarf stylishly tossed around her shoulders, she was one of a number of characters in our beloved Prescott.
After the shelter closed in early Spring 2008, Penny was often housed in motels provided by various charitable groups and caring individuals in Prescott. She tended to alienate some of those who might have given her more assistance. She wondered out loud “why can’t there be a safe place for a woman like me, just a room so I won’t have to wonder where I’ll sleep tonight.” She spoke of being in extreme pain but could not get the treatment she insisted she needed. She went downhill quickly in health and vitality and died later that same Spring. The coroner’s report said she was riddled with cancer. She was in her mid-50s. She was buried in Potter’s Field in Prescott.
This is, however, not the end of Penny’s story.
One thing we know for certain is that Penny was an artist. She created art from remnants of tapestries and costume jewelry. She had no access to a sewing machine or to a room where she could create her art. She sewed every stitch by hand and created unique and lovely purses decorated with colorful beads and bangles.
After her death, a volunteer who befriended Penny happened upon an antique store in downtown Prescott. Penny’s purses were on display and for sale. The store owner knew Penny and told of several occasions when, after hours, Penny would bang on the store’s front door shouting, “I know you’re in there. Open up. I’ve got purses for you and I need money.” The store owner accepted them and Penny went on her way. 
Five of Penny’s Purses have been purchased from the antique store by women who want to make sure that Penny’s Purses live on to help other homeless women. Volunteers will be meeting at the shelter to make purses that are in the spirit of the original Penny’s Purses and to encourage current guests at the shelter to participate. All proceeds will be contributed to the women’s shelter.
Continuing to create purses in her honor and memory will ensure that Penny’s spirit lives on to help current and future women guests at the shelter. We are sure that Penny would be pleased to know that there is now a safe place for women each night.
Written by Joan Maloney
PRESCOTT AREA WOMEN’S SHELTER (PAWS)
Serving Homeless Women and Their Children
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