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About YWCA Seattle | King | Snohomish
The YWCA’s mission is to better the quality of life of all women and their families by providing critical services that eliminate racism and provide equal opportunities for all people. The YWCA also strives to reduce violence against women and promote self sufficiency, empowering them by by promoting peace, justice, dignity and freedom for everyone. The YWCA of Seattle is dedicated to provide all women and their families with a safe home free from violence and racial and gender discrimination. YWCA is also committed to provide the youth with skills that will help them have a successful future and the adults with economic independence.

Locations
City of Seattle: •	Alvirita Little Center •	Angeline’s Center for Homeless Women •	East Cherry Branch •	Fir Street Shelter •	Lexington-Concord Apts •	Opportunity Place •	Spruce Street Office Epstein Bldg. •	YWCA Seneca Suburban King County: •	Angeline’s Eastside Women's Center •	Family Village Redmond •	Family Village Issaquah •	Greenbridge Career Center •	Green River Career Center •	Passage Point •	Seatac City Hall •	South King County Regional Center Snohomish County: •	Everett Regional Center •	Pathways for Women •	Trinity Place

History based on different centuries
In 1894, a group of 28 women led by Mrs. Rees Daniels founded the Seattle Young Women's Christian Association to help “the working girl” toward self support. Initially, they opened a lounge and a cafeteria offering 10-cent lunches for working women. With help from the Union Pacific Railroad Company, the YWCA hired a depot matron who met trains and steamers “to guard and guide young women traveling alone.”

Turn-of-the-century Seattle was a wide open town, rife with bawdy houses and saloons. From its early history, the YWCA organized multi-interest, multi-cultural clubs to keep young women and girls “interested in the best things,” according to Secretary Emily Southmayd, “and thereby prevent their being attracted by questionable amusements.” There were clubs for young married women, factory workers, domestic workers and office workers. African-American women joined the Culture Club, and women of Japanese, Chinese and Russian descent met in their respective clubs. High school girls joined the Girl Reserves, and younger girls joined Bluebird or Rainbow Clubs.

In the early 1910s, the YWCA launched a whirlwind fundraising drive for its own building. Working women throughout the city made their own contributions and canvassed businesses for funds. The $400,000 was raised through the sale of bricks for $1 per brick and concessions at the 1909 Alaska Yukon Exposition. The eight-story brick building located at 5th Avenue and Seneca Streets in downtown Seattle opened in 1914. It remains YWCA Seattle | King | Snohomish’s headquarters today.

Also in 1914, when the Legislature enacted a landmark $10 per week minimum wage for women, the YWCA declared its chief aim to be “the training and fitting of girls to enable them to earn at least minimum wage.” The Vocational Training Department held classes in millinery, dressmaking, cafeteria work, tearoom management, practical nursing, manicuring and salesmanship. A home economics program prepared girls for marriage or for domestic work. The YWCA developed strong relations with the business community, arranging job placements and promoting better conditions for women in the workplace.

In 1919, the Culture Club established its own branch in the heart of Seattle’s Central District. Despite the YWCA’s long-held inclusive philosophy, social mores of the day prevailed in the downtown building, where African-American women could not rent a hotel room and where they could swim in the pool only on Saturday afternoons – before it was drained and cleaned. The new Phyllis Wheatley Branch (named for the famous black poet of the Revolutionary War era) was the first of its kind in the Northwest, providing social, educational and employment programs to 150 African-American members. The branch provided lodging and became a popular venue for weddings, dances for young people, and meetings of community women’s organizations.

From the start, the Phyllis Wheatley Branch sent a non-voting representative downtown to YWCA board meetings. As the new representative in the 1930s, Bertha Pitts Campbell protested, saying that if she was expected to attend meetings, she wanted to vote. The board requested a change in policy from the national association, which granted its approval, giving Seattle the distinction of having the first racially integrated YWCA board in the nation. Years later, Campbell said that despite difficulties, she felt that the city’s racial climate might have benefited, because “the 'Y' always listened.”

Throughout the turbulent 1960s and 1970s, the Seattle YWCA remained a champion of social justice and equal rights. The Board of Directors went on record in support of President Johnson’s war on poverty and sent telegrams to lawmakers urging immediate passage of civil rights legislation “as a first step in eliminating poverty and racism in the U.S.A.” The Seattle YWCA sponsored public forums on equal rights and civil liberties, housing and health programs for low-income groups.

As the YWCA began to acquire and build additional permanent housing units for low-income women and families in the 1980s and 90s, the organization committed to fair housing practices that reject discrimination based on race and other factors. For the next two decades, the YWCA opened regional service centers in Renton and Everett, Opportunity Place in downtown Seattle, the YWCA Family Village in Redmond and Greenbridge Learning Center in White Center. Each new facility reflected the growing needs of the community and the shift in the diversity of the region. Culturally appropriate employment, counseling and family services were offered including programs to support girls of color as the next generation of successful women leaders

Programs
Family Homelessness Prevention - An in-home case management service that helps families struggling to resolve multiple issues stay in their homes.

Family Self-Sufficiency - An in-home case management service that helps families striving to attain independence and live without housing subsidy or public assistance.

Housing Access and Services Program - Coordination of a consortium of providers serving persons with disabilities.

Housing Stability Project of King County - Assistance for individuals and families experiencing a short-term financial crisis.

King County Landlord Liaison Project - Connects individuals and families who face barriers to renting (including previous criminal history, poor credit, etc.) with available rental housing and participating landlords.

Passage Point - Provides single parents returning to the community after a period of incarceration with supportive housing, empowering them to reunite with their children.

Permanent Housing - With affordable rent and YWCA support, nine out of 10 women in our permanent housing programs maintain stability.

Permanent Housing Stability Program - A five-year project which provides subsidized permanent housing for large (4-8 persons), low-income families currently residing in shelter or in transitional housing.

Project Self-Sufficiency - For over 15 years, program helps individuals, couples and families in crisis remain in their current housing or move into more appropriate housing.

Shelter Plus Care - Provides permanent housing vouchers to homeless adults with a qualifying disability.

Transition into Permanent Program - Provides up to six months of case management and housing support for families with children moving into permanent housing.

Transitional Housing - Serves families that have become homeless and need to rebuild their lives.

Women and Veterans Minority Outreach Program - Helps bridge the gap between veterans and the services for which they might be eligible. This program helps people of color and women veterans and their families connect to vital benefits and resources.

Angeline's Centers - The danger, uncertainty and indignity of living on the streets are replaced by safety, support and respect.

YWCA Central Area Food Bank - Serves over a 1,000 people a month, and hands out over 10,000 pounds of food.

Children's Domestic Violence Program - works with children and non-abusive parents to minimize the effects of domestic violence.

Emergency Shelter from Domestic Violence - The YWCA provides a safe haven for women and their children fleeing domestic violence.

Domestic Violence Program - Provides comprehensive domestic violence services for survivors in need.

Overnight Shelters - For at least 10,000 people in King and Snohomish Counties, YWCA is one of the largest providers of emergency shelter for homeless women and families in our region.

BankWork$™ - Helping people in transition train for and land high-quality bank teller careers and helping local banks find high-quality tellers.

Basic Food & Employment Training Program - Job search, training and placement services for eligible food stamp recipients (not receiving TANF).

YWCA Career Development Centers - Search for job listings, conduct a phone interview, work on resume or brush up on your computer skills.

YWCA Career Circle - a support and networking group for women job seekers.

Career Pathways Program: an employment and training program preparing low-income Seattle residents for careers in Business and Information Technology.

Community Jobs and Work Supported Programs - Assist families receiving TANF move from welfare to unsubsidized employment through on the job training at a government or non-profit agency.

Dress For Success® Seattle - Provides professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.

Greenbridge Youth Employment Program - Offers employment and education support to youth ages 16-22 living in the Park Lake II Apartments at Greenbridge in White Center.

Economic Resilience Program: Supports women and families in maintaining economic security and self-sufficiency through education, financial assistance and training that builds a variety of skills. Employment and Housing Stability Program (EHSP) - Assists in case management, support services and assistance with job search, housing search and 12 months of job retention.

Homeless Intervention Project - Helps homeless people obtain full time permanent employment, along with stable, affordable housing and self-sufficiency.

King County Jobs Initiative - Serves ex-offenders with employment re-entry services and targeted job training.

Social Justice Initiatives - Working that takes place across the agency to support efforts to increase equity both internally and externally.

Title V Employment Program - Helps older workers find employment.

Working Wardrobe - Offers business appropriate attire to homeless or low-income women in need of clothing for interviews or new jobs.

BABES Network -A peer support program for women and families affected by HIV.

Community Mental Health - Offers therapeutic mental health counseling to adults in East and South King County. Health Care Access - For people with low incomes who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless have information about and connections to free or low-cost medical services. Healthy Birth Outcomes (formerly Infant Mortality Prevention Program) - The leading causes of infant death include birth defects, SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) and disorders related to premature births and infants with low birth weights.

Pathways Counseling - Offers supportive mental health counseling on a sliding scale to individuals in the community. Women's Health Outreach - Provides peer outreach, education, no-cost mammograms and additional health services to a diverse community of women with limited incomes, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Children's Domestic Violence Program - Works with children and non abusive parents to minimize the effects of domestic violence.

Greenbridge Youth Employment Program - Offers employment and education support to youth ages 16-22 living in the Park Lake II Apartments at Greenbridge in White Center.

Young Parent Program - offers intensive housing and employment case management, paid internships, GED tutoring and parenting classes to homeless teenage parents.

YWCA GirlsFirst - Encourages leadership, instills confidence, develops skills, and provides opportunities to girls of color.

Board of directors 2012
Jean Bartell Barber

Charlene Blethen

Martha Mayes Boes

Bobbe Bridge

Sonya Campion

Blair Carleton

Paul Chiles

Cheryl Chow

Robyn N. Corr

Maryann P. Crissey

Whitney Curry

Pam Daniels

Ellen Conedera Dial Irma Dore

Jean Enersen

Mary Anne Eng

Molly Hanlon

Pamela J. Harkins

Kandace Holley

Bavan M. Holloway

Kalen Holmes

Katie Hong

Christal Jenkins

Laura Jennings

Jonelle M.C. Johnson

Leslie D. Jones

Amy Kosterlitz

Sandra Madrid, Ph.D.

Susan Mask

N. Elizabeth (Beth) McCaw

Barbara S. Morgan

Betsy Moseley

Jeannie Nordstrom

Nina Odell

Tim Otani

Ann Rickett

Sharon Rowley

Jill S. Ruckelshaus

Mary Snapp

Phyllis Stark

Denise Stiffarm

Kathy Surace-Smith

Wende Wahl

Kris Wilson

Korynne Wright