January 2023 | YWCA Winter Newsletter

FROM THE CEO’S DESK

Good for survivors and a good deal for our community

Supportive

housing a pathway to independence for domestic violence survivors

Domestic violence is the leading cause of homelessness for women. Other times, women become homeless in the aftermath of poverty from catastrophic life events or addiction.

We can safely say homelessness is always tied to trauma, and survivors face a cascade of challenges that take time to overcome.

This rebuilding time is available to survivors who live in YWCA supportive housing. Here, women greatly improve in health, financial security, and life successes - each accomplishment laying the foundation for the next. It goes without saying, life is immeasurably better for their children, too.

Supportive housing is also a good deal for our community. It cuts financial burden on hospitals, shelters, and emergency agencies; it improves employability; it reduces crime that’s sometimes a vulnerable person’s last-ditch effort to survive.

According to a recent study:

• About 80% of the costs for supportive housing are offset in the first 18 months.

• In this time, emergency department visits are lowered by 80%.

• Probability of employment is increased by 24%.*

Everyone wins when survivors heal and reconnect to the community that supported them.

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

The one- to four-bedroom apartments at Lantern Light will be home for around 60 adults and children when the residence opens in the fall of 2023.

If you’re interested in learning more, including the opportunity for a private “hard hat tour” during the construction of Lantern Light, we’re here at 701-232-2547 to help put your compassion into action.

Erin Prochnow CEO, YWCA Cass Clay

Source: “Housing the Homeless: The Effect of Housing Assistance on Recidivism to Homelessness, Economic, and Social Outcomes” Elior Cohen, October 2020

EACH AND EVERY MONTH, SPECIAL HOPE STARTER SUPPORTERS ARE AN UNSTOPPABLE FORCE PROTECTING WOMEN

Please consider joining them!

The first hours and days after leaving an abuser are the most dangerous for victims of domestic violence.

With your monthly $66 to YWCA, you bring someone in crisis to safety. When you become a Hope Starter, no extra effort is required to repeat a charitable gift important to you!

• No check writing, postage, or worries – just confidence that your compassion is routinely helping women and children.

• Every monthly gift means safe haven, after-school enrichment programs, and confidence-building skills grown at YWCA Emergency Shelter that will last survivors a lifetime.

Please make 2023 your year to join the reliable, dependable Hope Starters that vulnerable women and children need!

YES, I WOULD LIKE TO BECOME A HOPE STARTER!

I want to change lives at YWCA with a monthly gift of:

 $30 (just $1/day!)

 $66 - cost of one night of shelter  $100  $

 Please automatically charge my credit card on the 15th of each month

Please note - your first donation will be charged when we receive your request. All following donations will be charged on the 15th of the month.

 I am already a monthly giver and want to update my monthly donation amount to $

Card Number: Exp. Date: / Security Code:

APRIL 24, 2023

NOMINATIONS OPEN!

ADVOCATING FOR EQUALITY

ARTS & CULTURE

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT & ENTREPRENEURSHIP

COMMUNITY & VOLUNTEER SERVICE

EDUCATION

FAITH COMMUNITY

HEALTH & WELLNESS

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

YOUNG WOMAN OF TODAY & TOMORROW

YOUTH ADVOCACY

BUSINESS CATEGORY

LEADER IN WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

NOW ACCEPTING WOMEN OF THE YEAR NOMINATIONS

Nomination deadline is Monday, February 20.

YWCA’s 50th annual Women of the Year awards event will be held Monday, April 24. Nominations are sought for individuals and businesses in Cass and Clay counties with significant achievements and outstanding character in 13 categories.

Find the nomination form and purchase tickets at ywcacassclay.org/womenoftheyear

Are you a past YWCA Women of the Year nominee? Do you know someone who is?

We’re collecting contact information so we can be in touch about a special 50th anniversary event! Complete the past nominee outreach form for yourself or on behalf of another at ywcacassclay.org/woty50outreach.

THANK YOU FOR MAKING THE HOLIDAYS MERRY AND BRIGHT FOR THE FAMILIES WE SERVE!

Whether you hosted a drive, adopted a family, or dropped off gifts, we cannot thank you enough for bringing joy to YWCA this season.

13th Annual Stuff the Bus

We are so grateful to Midwest Communications, Y94, 790 KFGOAM, Froggy 99.9, MATBUS, and our generous community for once again teaming up to Stuff the Bus for families calling YWCA home.

The bus full of gifts was unloaded at YWCA Emergency Shelter to be distributed to those staying with us over the holidays. Donated items were also shared with Red River Children’s Advocacy Center and the Fargo Police Department Community Outreach Team to distribute to those they serve.

We appreciate the local businesses that hosted the bus this year: Advanced Business Methods, Beyond Realty FM, Choice Insurance/Choice Wealth, Fargo Police Department, Gate City Bank, and Vitalant.

Unique Boutique

Each December, YWCA’s Unique Boutique is brimming with new gifts for kids, teens, and moms, thanks to the generosity of our community. As donation after donation was dropped off, the shelter began to overflow with generosity! Staff had the joy of playing Santa—delivering gifts just in time for everyone to open on Christmas Day.

This event is possible only by generous community members and businesses who donate time and gifts to make the holidays special for families at YWCA. Because of you, all women and children calling YWCA Emergency Shelter home received gifts this holiday season!

Adopt a Family

For many parents living in supportive housing, purchasing gifts for their children simply isn’t an option due to other critical financial priorities like food, utilities, and paying down debt. But for more years than we can count, generous individuals, families, businesses, and organizations have offered to “Adopt a Family” for the holidays; ensuring that every individual, parent, and child served by YWCA has a gift to open at the holidays.

This year, every woman and family in YWCA’s Supportive Housing Program had the chance to make a list of something they need, something they want, and something they wish for. We are in awe of the thoughtful, considerate, and plentiful gift giving shown by everyone who adopted a family!

MISSION MOMENT

Fill a Home with Hope

Once again, our community showed its generosity in providing a multitude of household items to individuals and families in YWCA’s Supportive Housing units across the community. YWCA is thankful for the many individuals, businesses, clubs, and church groups that hosted drives and gave gifts to ensure families have fully furnished homes this holiday season. Your gifts have truly made houses into homes, providing a safe and comforting place for individuals and families to start anew this year.

Thank you Lutheran Church of the Cross

Special thanks to Lutheran Church of the Cross for hosting a giving tree for families at Grace Garden. Your shopping, gift wrapping, and deliveries made the holidays bright!

Pictured is a note of thanks from a woman who recently called YWCA Emergency Shelter home.

Helping women move from fear to freedom paves the way for their dreams to come alive!

—TALIA YWCA Program Participant

YOUR SUPPORT MADE THE DIFFERENCE IN KAYLA’S JOURNEY!

Today, Kayla dreams big and lives with high hopes.

Like all of us, she faces difficulties: car repairs, sick children, winter weather hassles. Yet enormous barriers that that seemed impossible a year ago are gone, and she’s a business owner in charge of her own future.

Kayla came with her children to YWCA Emergency Shelter in 2022 broke, devastated, and escaping a financial abuser.

She found safety, food, clothing and – importantly – healing human kindness and support, thanks to YWCA supporters. Her own determination and hard work set her life back on track.

Kayla was fleeing a manipulator who exploited her through marriage. After two years, she realized her second husband’s interests had been her paycheck for rent and her savings to pay down his large credit card debt. Entirely changed from the man he posed as when they dated,

his language had become demeaning and escalated in aggression.

She knew the relationship was over, yet had no financial means to leave. Facing homelessness, she came to YWCA.

A truly invaluable resource at YWCA, Kayla says, was a financial curriculum we offered among our many employment and education resources. We help women explore their skillsets, prepare a budget, and focus their goals on a vocation with living wages.

With three children, Kayla knew she needed more than minimum wage. Empowered through her learning and budget preparation, she began to consider renewing her skills and opening a hair salon of her own.

The team at YWCA got fully behind her as she researched sites and applied for a salon license, next helping garner supplies and creating colored

flyers at our computer center.

Her YWCA advocate Liz helped Kayla search and secure safe, affordable housing near the future salon. Opening in the fall, her appointment book is beginning to fill.

Liz was Kayla’s biggest supporter.

“Kayla is so bubbly and happy. She is truly a joy and a sweet human being who very easily connects with people. I’ll continue to support her the next several months in our follow-up program, and independence is well within her reach.”

As a YWCA supporter, you were alongside Kayla, too, providing her stable emergency shelter for several months. Someone very special shopped for her children to have school clothing and supplies in our Adopt a Student program, and others provided gifts through Adopt a Family holiday program.

Once in financial ruin, now on the road to financial freedom

JUST $66 CHANGES LIVES LIKE MICHELLE’S

YOU GIVE SAFETY. YOU BRING EMPOWERMENT.

Giving Hearts Day is the best 24 hours to give $66 for a night of safety at YWCA thanks to matching by Dakota Medical Foundation and other generous donors.

Go to givingheartsday.org to schedule a gift or give on February 9, or mail a check to YWCA (4650 38th Ave S, Ste 110, Fargo, ND 58104). Please date checks February 9 or note “Giving Hearts Day” in the memo. Checks must arrive by 5pm on the 9th.

I DIDN’T WANT TO ADMIT I WAS BEING ABUSED... I HAD BEEN BROKEN FOR SO LONG AND IN SO MANY WAYS. THEN THE SUN CAME OUT, AND I FELT WHOLE. YWCA SAVED MY LIFE.

Our Deepest Gratitude

A sincere thank you to those who have honored someone they care about with a gift to YWCA.

Rose and Don Andersen in memory of Ing Dahl

Rose and Don Andersen in memory of Lowell Larson

Jill Anderson in memory of Anne White

Anonymous in honor of Jocelyn Mattson

Anonymous in memory of Richard Prochnow

Joann and Robert Barden in honor of Samuel Barden and Janessa Nelson

Andrea, Avi, and Brett in honor of Amma and Bop, caregivers extraordinaire

Kathryn Benson in memory of Richard Prochnow

Julie Berg in memory of Rich Prochnow

Stefan Bischof in memory of someone special

Widmer Roel, PC in memory of Mark Schneider

Shelley Earsley in honor of someone special

Brent Edison in memory of someone special

Merle and Duane Egeberg in honor of Christie Danielson

Karen and Mark Erdmann in memory of Bette Brand

Jack, Sarah, Tom, Jim, and Nancy Evert in memory of Harriet Evert

Judith Feist in honor of Blake Feist

Dr. Calvin Fercho Family Foundation in memory of Doris L. Fercho

Jayme Fuglesten and family in loving memory of Mark Schneider

Tessa Gould in memory of someone special

Jody Greuel in memory of someone special

Pam and William Gulleson in memory of Mark Schneider

Cheryl and Bruce Hackey in memory of Richard Ihland

Katherine Halvorson in honor of Rachel Clarke

Alice Hamilton in honor of Julia and Stephanie

Brian Hayer in memory of Richard Prochnow

Theresa and David Hedman in memory of Mark Schneider

Thomasine Heitkamp and Al Boucher in memory of Mark Schneider

Sandy, Dakota, and Morgan Huseby in memory of Mark Schneider

Willy and Arland Jacobson in memory of Mary Don Aafedt

Timothy Kasper in honor of Julie Peterson Klein

Susan King in memory of someone special

Tara Kramer in honor of someone special Vanessa and Paul Kummer in memory of Paul Tehle

Carol and Daniel Labernik in honor of Elise Kainz

Mary Jo and Randy Lewis in memory of someone special

Jodie Lichtsinn Morgan in memory of someone special

Melanie and Gregg McNutt in memory of Donald McNutt

Diane Ness in honor of someone special

Theresa Nistler in honor of Adelle Heggem

Joan Ottis in memory of someone special

Kathy Patterson in memory of someone special

Evelyn and Brian Quigley in memory of Mark Schneider

Beth Renner in memory of Audrey Bueide

Erika Squeri and family in memory of Mark Schneider

Sherry and Daniel Stoa with love and gratefulness

Jamie and Pat Traynor in memory of Richard Prochnow

Marilyn Wahlgren in honor of Adele Wilson, Bunny Workin, Donna Wicklund, Marlys Oak, and Margie Eckre

Caroline Welles in memory of someone special

Bridget Yeater in memory of someone special

Jared Yeater in honor of someone special

Marie Zitzow in memory of Willmar Zitzow

MARCH IS MN FOODSHARE MONTH

TOP NEEDS

You can donate the things women need on their journeys to independence.

The families we serve need:

For over 30 years, Minnesota FoodShare has coordinated the largest food and fund drive in the state. Annually, the March Campaign accounts for more than half the food distributed through food shelves each year in Minnesota.

The need at food shelves statewide continues to be critical. Here are some ways that you can help be a hero in the fight to end hunger:

• Organize food and fund drives for the YWCA food shelf.

• Tell your family, friends, and co-workers about the March Campaign.

• Donate to the MN FoodShare – every dollar contributed to the March Campaign will go to local food shelves to purchase food. And remember, cash increases the purchasing power of our food shelf.

Twin- and Full-Size Sheets

(new and gently used)

Hygiene Items

(lotion, shaving cream, tampons, face & body wash, toothpaste, etc.)

Adult Winter Coats, Hats, and Gloves

(size 2XL+ coats needed)

Cleaning Supplies

(all-purpose cleaner, bathroom cleaner, hand soap, etc.)

Donations can be dropped off at YWCA

Emergency Shelter Monday-Friday, 8AM-5PM, or shipped to 3000 S. University Drive, Fargo, ND 58103. Our full needs list and a link to YWCA’s Amazon Wish List can be found at ywcacassclay.org/urgent-needs