JOYCE Hewett is the new president of the more than two decade-old Woman Inc. Elected at the organisation’s annual general meeting last month, Hewett, who is in her sixties, took over from attorney Carol Sewell on April 1, when Woman Inc began its new administrative year.

“I am, hopefully, much wiser and I am certainly much more experienced. I know the pulse of the country. I know the pulse of the women. I even know about the men. I have worked as an independent consultant on my own as a community developer,” Hewett told the Observer.

However, among the challenges facing Hewett, who first served as president in 1991, is to get the organisation, which comprises a women’s crisis centre and shelter, on sound financial footing. Up to October of last year the organisation was faced with a million-dollar hole in its budget, and appealed to the private sector for financial assistance to keep its operations going.

Hewett recognises the challenge, but has said that she is determined to tun things around.

“(Woman Inc is) always in trouble, (under) constant (financial) strain. We are still in dire need,” she said of the organisation, which currently gets a million-dollar subvention from the government to assist with administrative costs.

Their administrative costs include the payment of salaries and statutory obligations, which exceed $2 million each annually, Sewell told the Observer last October. The organisation has, however, been saved having to pay out an additional one million dollars by GraceKennedy Remittance Services, which finances the administrator’s salary.

Even with the input of government and GraceKennedy, however, Woman Inc is still often hard-pressed to make ends meet.

“Major infrastructure repair is needed. We need our infrastructure. It is falling apart. We need a new retaining wall,” said Hewett. Persons, she said, were welcome to donate to the repairs or to volunteer their time to the effort.

The organisation, she added, was also in desperate need of new equipment, such as computers and printers, to enhance the efficiency of its operations.

As part of efforts to ensure the smooth running of its operations, Hewett said special emphasis would be placed on the organisation’s trade fair this year, after its hiatus last year. The trade fair, since its inception, has long been the trademark of Woman Inc. But it was cancelled last year because of a lack of corporate sponsorship.

“We need all the corporate support. We try to impress upon them that when they give to Woman Inc, they are giving to their employees. They are really providing a service to the women and the few men who call (to benefit from the counselling services),” said Hewett, who has been with Woman Inc since 1986. “Domestic violence is occurring in all walks of life, and so is incest and rape and sexual harassment. This is what we try to impress upon the corporation and we are trying to impress upon them more,” said Hewett.

In the meantime, Hewett is hoping to add to the Woman Inc Trust, which was recently set up through the effort of a number of private sector organisations, including Jamaica Money Market Brokers and the Jamaica Stock Exchange.

“If we can get enough money in the Woman Inc Trust, long after I am gone, the crisis centre will continue so we won’t have to see the future look so dim, and people grovelling for funds the way we do now,” she said.

Woman Inc has long proven a refuge for Jamaica women seeking to escape abuse. Between 2001 and 2004, close to 500 women utilised the shelter while numerous others benefited from their counseling services.

williamsp@jamaicaobserver.com