About Us

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Before the Transition, Inc. (BTT)  started back in 2009 with just one dress, a blouse, and an old suit of mines on a rack I purchased for five dollars at a yard sale.  With the desire to give back to the community, I volunteered my time after work to be a mentor to young single mothers regarding life skills, job coaching/dressing for success, how to recognize domestic violence on the job harassment, basic about computers...etc.

 

 A counselor called me one day, and mentioned that one of the young ladies have an interview, which was the next day.  So, I reached out to my career representatives, that "single mother" needs a suit for an interview.  So, I received a big response, and that is what started my clothing closet.

 

is a nonprofit organization dedicated to procuring professional clothing and accessories to help veterans, foster and at-risk youth, ex-offenders and senior citizens attain professional attire to enable them to go back to work. Many of the individuals who seek our services do not have the financial means to purchase their own suits, but they understand the need to look professional when seeking employment.

 

We now have six closets located at several businesses in the communities we serve:  The Los Angeles Probation DRC – serving men recently released from prison;  Opportunity Youth Collaborative Alliance for Children’s Right – serving foster youth; Bassett Adult School in Whittier – serving veterans and community students; La Puente Adult School – serving community and veterans; Ortega High School, Lake Elsinore – serving business high school students; and Ventura Employment Development Department (EDD) Disabled Veteran Outreach Program.

 

Also, provided clothing to Los Angeles Trade Tech College Worksource Center – serving veterans, foster youth, formerly incarcerated individuals, and senior citizens; Worksource Center Compton Employment Development Department (EDD) and other surrounding Worksource centers-serving the community with job resources; PVJobs – serving at-risk youth, construction students, formerly incarcerated individuals, and veterans. We also served single mothers/fathers, and those that have gone through domestic violence.

 

Being able to provide our clients with professional clothing is paramount for us because we understand that first impressions really make a difference when they go out to seek employment.  For some of our clients, getting dressed up and looking professional really boosts their self-esteem and confidence to go on interviews with a positive attitude.

 

We are constantly contacted by other community-based organizations requesting suits for their clients, but we do not have enough suits to meet the high demand. 

 

We recently embarked on a campaign to seek large donations of new and gently-used suits from community businesses, but the response has been lukewarm. The Men’s Warehouse has been a faithful partner since 2010, donating suits and accessories from their inventory.  Macy’s has also donated $300 gift cards over the past couple of years to help us procure suits and accessories.

 

We are very grateful for partnership and look forward to finding more community partners that see the value in offering our clients the resources they need to reintegrate into society.

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Thank you!

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Dorothy J. Lee, President/Founder