Mission

The mission of Dress for Success Pittsburgh is to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by helping them gain and maintain employment.

DFS Pittsburgh operates two programs aimed at assisting women in crisis and/or time of critical life transition.  Our programs focus on providing a continuum of support and opportunities for low income women to compete, advance and support themselves and their families.

Our two cornerstone programs are: professional clothing assistance and the Professional Women’s Group. DFS works with over 120 referral agencies who refer clients with scheduled job interviews but who simply do not have the resources to purchase appropriate clothing. DFS provides women with interview clothing and once the job is secured, the clients return to DFS for workplace-appropriate clothing needs.

Getting the job, however, is only the first step. Most job-training agencies’ services end when a client finds employment. However, low-income women face many personal barriers to retaining their jobs – from interpersonal and communication skills, to financial planning to balancing work and life.  The Professional Women’s Group (PWG) was founded to respond to this need. Once a client secures a job, they are invited to join PWG. PWG focuses on workshops and peer support as job retention and career development tools for at-risk women. Each meeting has two key elements: an expert speaker leading a discussion and a networking period. Speaker topics include financial planning (budgeting, credit repair, basic banking), time management, the written and unwritten rules of the workforce, child care, transportation, and many more. Equally important, members have the opportunity to network and provide each other with mutual support.

No other organization in the Southwestern PA region provides the continuum of services that DFS Pittsburgh offers. DFS Pittsburgh is the primary advocate for at-risk women who are in the critical transition to re-employment.

Clients

We help women who are facing a challenging life transition and need assistance to take the next step towards self sufficiency.  The vast majority have experienced a major disruption in their lives, including addiction, incarceration, divorce, job loss and/or domestic violence.

• More than 40% of all DFS Pittsburgh clients are in their teens and twenties,
• 69% of the clients are African American or another minority,
• 76% are on public assistance, and are responsible for dependent children.
• Three in four clients have two or more dependent children.

Women come to DFS, then, not only to help themselves, but also to help vulnerable children whose future depends upon a successful transition to economic independence.