On a crisp autumn morning, my student cohort and I piled into a Prague city tram, hunting for any open seat for our long journey across the city. Most weeks, our program organizes some type of interactive, informative activity, but this one felt different from the museums and memorials we had previously visited. This activity was neither academic nor historical. Today, we were going to visit the Jako Doma Community Center, a low-threshold day center focused on supporting women living on the streets.
After one tram transfer and a short walk through cobblestone streets, we arrived at the entrance to a non-descript building and were met with a warm welcome from one of the workers: Zdenĕk Funke. Then he showed us into the community center and explained the mission of Jako Doma. Some of the organization’s many goals are to create safe spaces for these women, assist them with social integration, promote destigmatization, provide access to basic needs, and empower them– all while working with a trauma-sensitive approach. Big goals to say the least, but Jako Doma has been working tirelessly for the last 12 years to make this vision a reality.
We began with a short tour of the facility: two showers, two bathrooms, storage lockers, a free clothing rack, a spacious living room with squishy couches and space to cook, a private room often used for medical and psychiatric visits, a small back office, and a calming outdoor garden. While our sizable group shuffled from room to room, Funke explained the unique services Jako Doma offers.
Instead of cooking a large pot of plain soup as most shelters do, the workers distribute small packs of fresh ingredients each day and allow women to use the kitchen to cook for themselves. Our guide admitted there were pros and cons to this approach. Although it allows some sense of normalcy and empowerment to women who no longer get opportunities to cook, it also means the organization is only able to accommodate 12 individuals onsite at a time because of limited cooking space. Ultimately however, the ability to cook is a resource coveted by their clients, so the organization has opted to continue this practice. I can relate with the women’s desire to be able to cook. Cooking is my time to relax and re-ground myself by doing something familiar and productive. In the times I’ve lived without access to a kitchen; I’ve always missed it terribly. When we think of individuals living on the street, I believe sometimes we flatten their needs down to what is essential for survival, but life is so much more than that. Perhaps what people want is to feel like they are living, not just surviving. This is what the kitchen at Jako Doma provides.
The other unique feature of the community center is its outdoor garden — my favorite space personally. In warmer months, the garden is lovingly tended to by both staff and clients, making it a wonderful place to relax and get back in touch with nature. Funke emphasized how important these spaces of respite are. For many women, the three hours they spend here is the only time they can feel safe — away from abusers or the harshness of life on the streets. Hearing this sent a pang of sadness through my chest. Feeling safe should not be as much of a privilege as I know it is. The depressing reality is that safety is something that so many of us take for granted, which is why the creation of safe spaces for women in need lies at the heart of Jako Doma’s mission.
Our guide also explained what it means to operate from a trauma-sensitive perspective. One example was the decision to remove the steel bars that once covered the windows, as they were triggering for many women who had previously been in correctional facilities. Small, thoughtful changes such as these, over many years, have shaped the community center into the welcoming space it is today. Hearing all this made it clear just how deeply this organization cares for the women it serves. They don’t just provide for basic needs; they offer a place to build community and feel at home. Jako doma translates into “like home,” and that is exactly what this center strives to be — a home. It isn’t another cold, utilitarian institution designed to serve hundreds at a time, but a space where you can cook, watch TV, take a shower, and relax — just as you would in your own home. And while it may be unrealistic for every shelter to adopt this model, I believe this center offers something rare and just as vital as any other basic need: the comfort of home.
