Pregnant with her third child, Iwamizu had no family close by and nowhere to turn.
"I remember my first night at the shelter. I put my head in the pillow and cried and cried," Iwamizu said. "My eldest daughter was the most upset about it. She felt I’d failed her. There was that spark that had gone out in me that said 'let’s reignite this fire because you have to do something about this.'"
Eventually, Iwamizu found the helping hand she needed. She discovered a program called Dress for Success Worldwide-West. The nonprofit, run for and by women, started in 1997 and is now in 139 cities and 18 countries. It has helped more than 775,000 women become self-sufficient. The program is best known for outfitting women for job interviews. All the clothing and accessories are donated.