As chairwoman of the Harford County Commission for Women, Lisa Tittle is brimming with ideas on how to improve the lives of women.
Why not start a halfway house with training programs for women leaving prison, she asked. How about opening a school for young mothers, who want to return to class but cannot overcome hurdles like child care and transportation? Maybe the commission should lend its support to the Homecoming Project, an association that helps women recovering from substance abuse. What about helping the young women who have aged out of foster care without acquiring life skills?
But turning those visions into realities and finding volunteers to assist with the task has her stumped.
"The problem is there are ideas, but so few people to follow through and coordinate," Tittle said. "We need diversity of ideas and more hands. We are in this to help other women and we want to do more of that."
Since 1977, the commission's mission has been to promote economic, social and political equality for women. Members act as an advisory body to the county executive on all manner of women's issues.
But, like many volunteer groups, the commission is coping with dwindling membership. The panel has traditionally had 15 women serving staggered three-year terms. There are 10 on the commission now, with three about to end their tenures.
Tittle, an assistant professor in educational studies at Harford Community College, assumed the chairwoman position in September. While working full time, this wife and mother of two is also studying for her doctorate at Morgan State University. A feminist who is pro-family, she looks on her commission efforts as "a great opportunity for community service."
March, women's history month, and the annual Athena Awards, which recognize the contributions of working women, present ideal opportunities for publicizing the commission's efforts, she said.
The Athena program, one of many in communities across the country, will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. March 6 at the Maryland Golf and Country Clubs in Bel Air. It includes a silent auction with proceeds benefiting local women's programs.
Tittle is hoping the program will help raise interest. Maybe women, especially those who are new to the county, are unaware of the commission, Tittle said. Others may feel they cannot commit to another demand on their time, she said.
"Some people don't know we are here," Tittle said. "They don't know we are a resource for women. People who don't know who we are assume that this commitment will be too time-consuming."
The commission meets the fourth Monday of every month. Service can be as time-consuming as a member wants to make it, Tittle said. She promises the work will broaden anyone's outlook.
"My awareness has tripled," she said. "There are so many issues that I had not thought of. We have come a long way, but there are still a lot of laws that are anti-female.
"Women still struggle for equal pay," she said. "It is often difficult for them to find resources to continue their education, start a business, find child care or rehabilitate themselves."
While the commission members may not be conversant on every possible issue, Tittle said, among them they can find answers for women struggling with problems that affect their quality of life.
"We can steer them in the right direction," she said.
The commission has used its small budget to fund scholarships, but may branch out, Tittle said. Members might study the feasibility of providing a high school with child care, classes on raising children and associated services so students with newborns and toddlers can earn a high school diploma.
"There were 34 babies born to student mothers last year," she said. "That is enough to support this school."
Or the commission might help start that program for former foster girls.
"I know these girls are here at the community college and not at Goucher or Towson," she said.
Or, they might work to expand the Homecoming Project, now housing eight women in Abingdon and looking at a waiting list of at least 18.
"I am in my second full year with the commission and I am still learning," Tittle said. "But I have learned what a resource for women we are."
mary.gail.hare@baltsun.com