WE CAN Weathers COVID Pandemic to Support Women

HARWICH – Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, nonprofit women’s support group WE CAN is adapting to the challenge and empowering Cape Cod women for its twentieth year in a row.

“We provide a very practical set of services that helps them move to a place of stability. We offer free and confidential legal services, employment support, financial counselling and empowerment, even small business support for women-owned businesses,” said Executive Director of WE CAN Lisa Guyon.

Participants in the service are paired with an appropriate volunteer expert in the field or sector that is posing a challenge.

Virtual and digital services are also being offered in order to stay safe during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which Guyon said may stick around even after the outbreak to improve accessibility across the Cape. 

Mentor programs and workshops online that span several weeks and months also assist women who may be struggling with various challenges.

Guyon said that the nonprofit’s legal service program has been particularly useful to Cape women, and is often the most utilized resource.

“It’s one of the only programs that provides free and confidential consultations by volunteer attorneys for low-to-moderate income women on the Cape.”

She said that the organization also performs many referrals, so if women cannot find what they need with WE CAN, they are pointed in the correct direction by volunteers. 

As part of its 20th anniversary, WE CAN will be hosting a series of virtual events titled “WE CAN at Home” throughout the summer and fall to educate individuals on how they can get involved with the nonprofit as a volunteer or donor, as well as showcasing what services it provides.

As vaccinations continue, Guyon said that she hopes to see the fall mark a return to traditional fundraising events, if on a smaller scale than previous years.

She also said that the community between participants and mentor volunteers that WE CAN provides is best delivered in-person, though digital formats will still be utilized when the region approaches a “new normal.”

The full Sunday Journal interview with Lisa Guyon can be found here

About Grady Culhane

Grady Culhane is a Cape Cod native from Eastham. He studied media communications at Cape Cod Community College and joined the CapeCod.com News Center in 2019.



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