Five years ago, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Erin Molek asked her friend Mike McNamara to help her raise money for women who had experienced domestic violence.
In her work at BEDS Plus, the La Grange non-profit addressing homelessness in the southwest suburbs, she had noticed a surge in battered women needing assistance.
McNamara, a mortgage banker with OriginPoint, said Molek requested help raising money.
“She said we’re paying for hotels and for people to find safety,” he recalled. “So I did.”
But it was tricky trying to organize events amid the pandemic, he said, as sheltering in place became the rule of the day. But BEDS Plus supporters found a way.
“We got together and raised money,” McNamara said. “It’s great.”
So began the tradition of the BEDS Plus yearly fundraiser specifically for battered women.
This year’s event, titled the Road to Independence, was at Imperial Oak Brewing in Brookfield, directly across the street from the BEDS Plus facility in La Grange.
About 150 people paid $30 each for tickets, which included an Imperial Oak Celebration Ale, live music, door prizes, a split the pot raffle and live auctions. There was also a Harley Davidson photo booth and access to Monk’s Food Truck.
“It’s a personal thing for me,” McNamara said, explaining that a family member had been in a long-term abusive relationship. “She has been away from her abuser for 20 years, and she was with him for 19. She’s doing much better, and she is here for the first time.”
McNamara stressed abusive relationships are more common than many think.
“There are what I call the invisible women in every neighborhood, and you don’t know it,” he said. “They don’t want you to know, that’s why they’re invisible. They’re struggling with a level of domestic violence you probably don’t know about. Donating to programs like BEDS Plus helps them get on their feet because they have the programs that will give them counseling and job assistance and, of course, safe housing, and the transportation to get to a job.”
McNamara noted that having transportation was the main thing that allowed his sister to gain her independence and singled out Illinois Harley Davidson of Countryside for special thanks for their yearly support.
“We’re just excited about the neighborhood feel and that everyone in the neighborhood is behind us,” said Molek, development manager at BEDS Plus. “How our community comes out to support women who were victims is special.”
Other BEDS Plus staff praised the turnout and support.
“This is always an amazing event and we’re so appreciative of Mike and what he does for us,” said Terri Rivera, chief advancement officer. “To bring awareness of the violence programs and assistance, and we appreciate the community coming out to support it.”
Miriam Martinez, manager of families in transition, talked about her experiences with the organization.
“So I started working with BEDS Plus as a volunteer,” she said. “And I was really passionate about working with the homeless population. I’d never had that experience before, so I was really happy to be involved.“
Martinez talked about serving various functions at the organization before becoming involved with the victims of crime.
“A lot of the victims of crime that we were encountering were survivors of domestic violence and survivors of sexual assault.”
Hank Beckman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
