Winter 2023 Newsletter
YWCA North Central Washington is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. Our local vision is to empower women, men, and children to break the cycle of economic insecurity and homelessness and achieve self-sufficiency through assistance, support, and education.
Award For PSH Facilities
YWCA NCW recently received two new grants to support housing programs. First, YWCA NCW will be part of a new grant through the Health Care Authority aimed at expanding direct client services through Housing First and Harm Reduction models to provide necessary, empathetic and low barrier resources targeted at giving people the resources they need at the time they need it. We will be expanding our case management capacity to take on clients who are not currently participating in our housing programs.Additionally, YWCA NCW has been chosen as one of 15 Community Based projects submitted by Rep. Kim Schrier to the U.S. Appropriations Committee for funding to support critical facilities updates to our Permanent Supportive Housing facility. Read more about it here: YWCA North Central Washington Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) Updating and Modernization | Representative Kim Schrier (house.gov)
Black History Month - Dorothy Irene Height photo
YWCA shero Dr. Dorothy Height was the only woman present on the speaker's stage when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous I Have a Dream speech at the 1963 March on Washington.
In her memoir "Open Wide the Freedom Gates" published in 2003, Dr. Dorothy Height - YWCA's first Director of Racial Justice - documented her life and role in YWCA's history from YWCA Harlem to YWCA USA.
Get in trouble. Good trouble. Necessary trouble. -John Lewis-
February is Black history month, but I'd challenge that all months need to be about Black history - there is no US history without Black history. This country was built on the backs of stolen Black labor and lives, on land stolen from the Indigenous people who had been here for thousands of years. Some 500 years later and Black, Indigenous, and other people of color are still fighting! Fighting for rights, for reparations from the government, fighting to live and breathe as free.This month I challenge you to look around and see how you are joining this fight, are you complicit with your privilege or do you use it to center and uplift marginalized voices? Keep an eye on our social media to find ways to join alongside YWCA NCW to eliminate racism...this month and all year.If you or your organization is looking for ways to start doing the work of collective liberation, of racial justice (aka DEI), please reach out to me! I'd love to work with you and together, let's make some "good trouble".
Dusti Mahoney, Programs Manager
P: 509-662-3531 x131 E: dusti@ywcancw.org
For the first time YWCA hosted the PIT Count
The City of Wenatchee conducts the Point in Time Count two times a year, surveying the number of unsheltered folks in the community. From Wenatchee to East Wenatchee all the way to Malaga and Chelan, housing providers take to the street for the day to survey people experiencing homelessness. This year the PIT Count was centered at YWCA NCW, in the Women's Empowerment Center, and included resources from agencies including CVCH and their mobile clinic, Molina Healthcare, Aging & Adult Care, CAFE, The Salvation Army, The Housing Authority, Action Health Partners, Chelan Douglas Community Action Council, Chelan Douglas Health District, Columbia Legal Services, and Wenatchee Rescue Mission.The Point in Time Count recorded a decrease of homelessness and an increase in the number of people living in shelters and temporary housing compared to the numbers from last year.To break it down a little further, the survey showed that on the night of January 26, 2023, 105 people who were surveyed were unsheltered. Meaning they were living somewhere outside, in a vehicle, tent, abandoned building or somewhere not meant for habitation. And 368 people were staying in an emergency shelter, RV Safe Park, transitional housing, or using an emergency hotel/motel voucher.
Shop. Donate. Volunteer.
The YWCA Thrift Store, located at 231 N. Wenatchee Ave., is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:30 - 5:30.Fridays and Saturdays you can save 50% with our color tag sales.
How to Donate
Donations for the store can be brought to the Warehouse Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 10:30 - 5:00.
Donation items needed for our housing programs
YWCA NCW needs donations of new hygiene items to replenish our pantry. Items needed include: shampoo, conditioner, soap, lotion, toothpaste, and razors. Drop off donations Monday through Friday 11:00 am - 1:00 pm. To schedule a time outside of those hours, call or email our Housing Manager, Lillian Parra P: 509-662-3531 x118 E: lili@ywcancw.org.
Volunteer Needs
Would you volunteer by providing a crock pot lunch for our Enrichment Class participants on Tuesdays? YWCA NCW Enrichment Classes are an important part of our programs and provide our case management and housing clients with weekly life skills sessions. By providing a crock pot meal you can help encourage and support folks attending these classes. Contact our volunteer coordinator, Laura Cale P: 509-662-3531 x112 E: laura@ywcancw.org
Your donations house those without a home
YWCA North Central Washington depends on a generous community to support our essential work to house homeless and low-income women and families and get them back on their feet to safe and stable life. The generous support of individuals, businesses, foundations, and others is what keeps our housing, job training, case management services, and advocacy efforts coming to those in need 365 days a year. Consider putting your dollars to work in one of these tangible ways:
$25 Gives clothing essentials to those who need it.
$50 Provides four nights of emergency shelter for a single woman.
$100 Helps replenish food supplies in our pantry for shelter clients.
$250 Gives 15 nights of shelter to a mother and child.
$500 Gives a full month of housing with food, clothing, and job training for a mom with kids.
$1,000 Supports a homeless individual with up to six months of case management services: personalized one-on-one coaching, and assistance to remove barriers, set goals, and achieve housing stability.