The original ‘Gata, Dispus si Capabil’ Mothers Program started by Leslie Hawke and Maria Gheorghiu in 2001 was based on The Doe Fund’s ‘Ready, Willing & Able’ welfare-to-work program in New York City.
The Doe Fund develops and implements cost-effective, holistic programs that meet the needs of individuals working to break the cycles of homelessness, addiction and criminal recidivism. ‘Ready, Willing & Able’ has helped more than 3,000 men and women become drug-free, secure full-time employment, and obtain their own self-supported housing. The program targets the segment of the homeless population considered the hardest to serve: single, able-bodied adults, the majority of whom have histories of incarceration and substance abuse. Criteria for acceptance into the program is that the applicant be ready, willing and able, both physically and mentally, to work and maintain a drug-free lifestyle.
The success of the Doe Fund in New York and Philadelphia has led to the 2010 launching of Ready, Willing & Able-America, which has the misson of implementing RWA programs in cities across the country.