When was Bottomless Closet NYC founded?
We were founded by volunteers in 1999 in response to an August, 1996 New York Times article that spoke about the obstacles that mothers on public assistance had seeking work, including the lack of appropriate interview clothing and the lack of self-confidence to present themselves professionally in an unfamiliar interview setting. The founders were also responding to the passage of “The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act,” also known as The Welfare Reform Act, the same year which radically transformed the nation’s welfare system by imposing a time limit on federal welfare benefits further complicating women’s transition from public assistance into the workforce.
