Since April 2023, Lidia Rainone has worked part-time as an occupational therapist at Logifem. Her role: assessing and understanding each woman’s unique needs to help her overcome the obstacles she faces day to day.
These obstacles vary widely from one woman to the next. For some, it’s learning to organize daily tasks around the shelter. For others, the challenges run deeper — managing chronic health issues, like back pain, that seriously limit their ability to function independently.
Lidia’s approach is holistic: she pays as much attention to the physical side of these challenges as to the emotional and mental well-being of the women she supports. By offering practical solutions and tailored interventions, she helps them regain control of their lives — and with it, a sense of independence and self-worth.
Thanks to her compassion and expertise, Lidia has become a valued member of the Logifem team. Her work improves the quality of life of the women she supports and plays a key role in their path toward healing.
Building connections: workshops that build women’s independence
Lidia leads a seven-week program called “Taking Care of Myself,” which looks at health from multiple angles and encourages participants to care for themselves in new ways.
For many of the women Logifem supports, self-care isn’t a familiar concept. Some have never had the chance to make their health a priority; others don’t know how to ask for the right kind of help when seeing a doctor or nurse. Lidia’s workshop series aims to change that, approaching health holistically through topics that resonate with women at different stages of life:
- Understanding life’s different stages — the physical and emotional changes that come with stages like menopause.
- The impact of trauma — how the trauma most Logifem women have experienced can show up physically (digestive issues, chronic headaches) and tools to better manage those symptoms.
- Physical and emotional well-being — simple but effective self-care practices: walking, prioritizing sleep, recognizing one’s own emotions, and taking first steps toward setting healthy boundaries.
- Grieving and moving forward — a crucial step in the healing process, offering a safe space to express emotions.
- Reflection and creativity — each workshop opens with a 45-minute group discussion, designed to be both educational and supportive, with no pressure to speak.
The second half of each workshop is devoted to a hands-on activity, letting women express themselves creatively: personalized notebooks, monogrammed frames, stress ball making, custom coasters, glass lanterns, aloe plants.
It’s thanks to the generosity of Logifem’s donors that programs like this one are possible. Together, we’re not just helping women survive — we’re helping them thrive.