YWCA
It is easy around Christmas time to get swept up in the hustle and bustle - stressed out about what you have to buy for which family member, when to beat the mall rush - sometimes you need to just stop and reflect. We take for granted our families, the roof over our heads, the warm food at every meal, the clean pair of socks and underwear we have every morning. The 12 Days of Giving program allows us to connect with different charities throughout the holiday season and find out what is really going on in our community. It has also allowed us all to gain a much deeper appreciation for all that we have!
We were happy to once again include the YWCA as part of the 12 Days of Giving. The YWCA has been a staple in our community for over 89 years, providing essential programs and services to women and their families. The YWCA has done some amazing work this year, take a look at the stats:
“With rising housing costs and increasing costs to rent as well as limited availability of safe, affordable housing options, we have seen longer stays in shelter and have been running at overcapacity for more than a year at almost 125% capacity." - Elisabeth Zimmerman, Executive Director at the YWCA
We were happy to once again include the YWCA as part of the 12 Days of Giving. The YWCA has been a staple in our community for over 89 years, providing essential programs and services to women and their families. The YWCA has done some amazing work this year, take a look at the stats:
- 757 women and 122 children stayed in our Emergency Women’s Shelter - 1,036 women had to be turned away
- 78 individuals representing 14 families with 34 children stayed in our Emergency Family Shelters – 77 families are currently on the waiting list
- 49 men with 15 children stayed in our Emergency Men’s and Family Shelter
- Skills Development services were accessed by 3,635 individuals
- Women’s Addiction Recovery Mediation (WARM) program was accessed by 54 women
- Sex Trade On My Terms was accessed 753 times
- 24 women stayed in our On Site Transitional Housing units
- 46 women stayed in our Supported Transitional Housing units
- 94 women, 5 men, and 63 children stayed in our Off Site Transitional Housing units
- We served 94,691 meals
“With rising housing costs and increasing costs to rent as well as limited availability of safe, affordable housing options, we have seen longer stays in shelter and have been running at overcapacity for more than a year at almost 125% capacity." - Elisabeth Zimmerman, Executive Director at the YWCA
It is now more important than ever to give back, operating that high over capacity for such an extended period of time can put a lot of stress on organizations like the YWCA. This year we collected gifts and necessities to be given out to the women and families - everyone deserves something special for Christmas!
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| The tree is starting to get full of donations at our office! |
Elisabeth continued to reiterate the consequences of the fact that our community is still struggling with not having enough safe, affordable housing, "We have also seen increasing waitlists for all of our programs meaning we have had to turn away many more women, men, and families than ever before. We have been using all of our possible resources including cots and couches, as we work hard to ensure women, children, and men have somewhere safe to rest their heads.”
Thank you YWCA for all that you do in our community, we look forward to our continued partnership!
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| Our first load of gifts for the YWCA! |
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| Hand knit gloves and scarves for the children at the YWCA. |
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