Meet Our Women

Vickie Nelson

With a sweet smile and a quiet, unassuming nature Vickie shared the events that brought her to the Keeler Women’s Center. “My goal has always been to stay at a job and live a decent peaceful life.” Vickie has been working toward that goal for longer than she would like.

Vickie was visiting her local food pantry when she heard about Keeler. But life hadn’t always been hard for her. The mother of two grown children and the grandmother of two sets of twins she had gone back to school to obtain a Childcare Certificate in the hopes of becoming more marketable. When she continued to be passed up by others who had more education she decided to enroll in the two year Associates program at Kansas City Kansas Area Technical School.

In the past Vickie had struggled with staying motivated and in the middle of the program she lost interest and stopped attending classes. What she didn’t realize was that she would still be responsible for the tuition.

Now, with no job, no degree and no way of paying off her school debt Vickie found she was feeling more depressed and even less motivated. The Keeler Women’s Center entered her life at just the right time.

Initially she enjoyed the camaraderie of the Tuesday evening Knitting and Crocheting group, walking the 2 miles from her home to the Center each week. “I used to knit when I was younger and I enjoyed relearning what I had done so long ago.”

After visiting with the women and the staff at Keeler she decided to participate in the Job Skills and Starting Your Own Business classes. She also found that she enjoyed the monthly Journaling class, sharing her thoughts with others in the group.

“I would like to start my own childcare business. Right now I’m taking care of my daughter’s two-year-old twins so that she can work.” Vickie shared that she hasn’t been feeling well lately and knows that she is the one responsible for changing this.

“Keeler has helped me keep my mind going in the right direction. If I don’t feel good they are there to keep me motivated. I know if I just stay with it things will turn around. I know there’s something out there for me.”

Meet more of our women.


To contact Keeler Women's Center:
Sr. Carol Ann Petersen, Director
Keeler Women's Center
2220 Central
Kansas City, Kansas 66102
913.906.8990
email: kwc@mountosb.org