New Day Women’s Center co-founders share common dream for helping women

New Day Women’s Center is the brainchild of Phyllis Long, securing the La Mesa location a few years ago. Until she enrolled in Rebecca Garcia’s business and life coaching sessions, running the center was nearly the impossible dream for Long.

Armed with masters in Marriage and Family Therapy and Theology from Bethel Seminary, Long said she always felt the call to help women. In 1997, while serving in various group ministries in her church, she envisioned opening the women’s center.

New Day Women’s Center is the brainchild of Phyllis Long, securing the La Mesa location a few years ago. Until she enrolled in Rebecca Garcia’s business and life coaching sessions, running the center was nearly the impossible dream for Long.

Armed with masters in Marriage and Family Therapy and Theology from Bethel Seminary, Long said she always felt the call to help women. In 1997, while serving in various group ministries in her church, she envisioned opening the women’s center.

“I saw a need for women to have a safe place to come together to be authentic whether in fun activities or for growth and healing,” said Long. But through life’s twists and turns, Long said she almost disregarded her dream until 2008 when she met Garcia at Foothills Church in El Cajon. Through consistent coaching sessions, she said Garcia enabled her to see that her vision was worthwhile. As a result, Long created goals and action steps to see her dream come true.
“Rebecca and I found that we shared a common dream of starting a faith-based community for women to grow and connect,” said Long. “Thus, the New Day Women’s Center came to be.”

Long and Garcia are co-founders and directors of the center. Long oversees the clinical component of the center with the counseling and therapy services, while Garcia oversees events and community outreach.
Both Long and Garcia said they believe that healing and help of all sorts are available for women through relationships they have with each other.

“Social media cannot duplicate the chemistry that happens when women congregate together in the same room,” Long said. “We need to laugh together, cry together and just be together.” In one room of the center, Long meets with a group of women working through difficult stages in life, while down the hall Garcia might hold a business coaching session, aiding women to a clearer vision for their careers or life-long dreams. “Women come out of the coaching sessions encouraged, inspired and uplifted,” Garcia said.

La Mesa resident Natalie Thomas completed a six-week session of coaching with Garcia. Thomas said she needed a fresh start from her background in journalism and writing, moving forward to a more rounded experience with wiring, graphic design and web development.

“Rebecca’s coaching class has helped me immensely in providing a clearer vision for my future,” said Thomas. “Not only do I now know what I want to pursue, but I know what tools I need and what steps I need to make in order to achieve it.”

Taevyn Johnson said the coaching sessions opened her eyes to see what she could personally achieve and wants to delve more into her artistic side. “It gave me permission to go for my dreams and take down the walls that society has created,” said Johnson. “I no longer worry about doing what the world tells me is responsible.” Through coaching, Garcia said women walk out with a solid plan and strategy with action steps to make their vision a reality. “They have burdens lifted off of them and plans to overcome the obstacles that have been holding them back,” she said. “Women entrepreneurs are often isolated, making it difficult to be around others with whom to brainstorm and be held accountable.”

Certified Financial Planner Kelly Nilsson worked with Garcia on two separate occasions and wrote a personal testimonial on Garcia’s coaching website. “She coached me with my business and balancing a busy professional and personal life,” she said. “I learned techniques and processes I continue to use effectively.”

Long said that women gain a more positive and accurate concept of themselves when they come together.
“In essence, we become mirrors to one another, reflecting back gifts and strengths while having compassion for weaknesses and acceptance for flaws and failures,” she said.

New Day Women’s Center organizes social events like evenings out with the Girlfriend Connection. In addition, the business networking group WINK, Women, Inkorporated, has chosen New Day Women’s Center as its charity sponsor.

Even Garcia, as a businesswoman, wife, mother of three and grandmother, said she needs time to check in with someone. “Everyone needs a mentor,” she said. “I don’t know what I would do without mine. She is the one who helps me stay accountable. Otherwise, it’s too easy to shrug off my plans and wait for another day.”

For information on the New Day Women’s Center, go to www.newdaywomenscenter.wordpress.com. For information about Rebecca Garcia’s business and life coaching, go to www.rebeccagarcia.com.