TENAFLY, N.J.—To honor the life of Phoebe Seham, the founder of the Women’s Rights Information Center of Englewood, a memorial service was held on Tuesday, Aug. 13 where state Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg eulogized the activist.
This event was co-sponsored by Women’s Rights Information Center and Women Lawyers in Bergen.
Seham passed away on May 14 in Chatham, N.J. She was a wife, a mother, a grandmother, and an attorney. Seham was a member of the League of Women Voters, PTA, Fair Housing Council of Bergen County, Bergen County Commission on the Status of Women, and The American Association of University Women. She was also involved in the founding of the Women’s Rights Information Center, Women’s Rights in Tenafly, Women Lawyers of Bergen County, and New Jersey Women Lawyers association.
Seham received statewide recognition for her work through her appointment by the New Jersey’s Governor to the Commission on Discrimination in the Statutes and by the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court to the Commission on Women in the courts.
When speaking of Seham, The American Association of University Women addressed “The World” saying, “You are a better world because Phoebe Seham is in you. She had made a difference: Because her efforts and intentions have from the first been pointed toward making you a better place for everyone. Because improving conditions for women means improving conditions for everyone. Because her family comes first, and families are the basis of world conditions.”
Around a kitchen table in the spring of 1973, Seham and several other inspired women organized to create a clearinghouse of reliable information for women striving to become self-sufficient and facing difficult decisions.
The Women’s Rights Information Center has become a place for women and men in transition to gain career, life, and resource-building skills that can better their economic futures. The goal of WRIC is to promote a high quality of life for women as independent earners and self-sufficient members of the community. WRIC helps others to help themselves by providing reliable information for informed decision making, drop-in or phone-in peer counseling, and a variety of educational, training, practical and life-enhancing programs in a supportive environment.
WRIC provides women with various services spanning areas such as job training, counseling, legal assistance, domestic violence, immigration, ESL classes, housing, and much more.
“Phoebe Seham was a woman before her time,” said Weinberg. “Whether it was educating attorneys, fighting for civil rights, working against discrimination, or helping women to achieve their full potential, Phoebe was always fighting the good fight.”
At the 45th year celebration of WRIC in May, Phoebe Wallace, a past client, spoke about her past struggles and ultimate success with the help of WRIC, a testament to the organizations hard work.
Wallace recounted a heartbreaking tale of alcohol addiction, a broken marriage, the hardships of raising four kids alone and being homeless four times.
At the time, Wallace was referred by a friend she was living in a foreclosed home and struggling for financial security for her family. She worked part time for Amazon, but was close to losing her job because she could not afford a babysitter. When all hope seemed lost the WRIC got Wallace a grant for displaced homemakers that provided for childcare and gave her training to better her job prospects.
“Now that I am back on my feet, I go back to the center and mentor other women and I work on a campaign for financial literacy,” said Wallace. “So, I want to thank the WRIC for helping me and helping so many others like me. They turn tragedies into successes!”