Who We Are

Women Smiling Together, Racial Justice, YWCA Evansville

YWCA Evansville actively empowers individuals and communities through advocacy, education, and support services, ensuring dignity for all.

What We Do

We believe that all individuals have the right to be safe and choose the direction of their lives. Our programs address challenges and barriers that could cause anyone to find themselves in situations of violence, trauma, or addiction. We actively work to transform lives by creating positive change, stability, and new opportunities for our clients, their families, and the community.

YWCA has served the Southwest Indiana since 1911. Today, our reach includes six Southwest Indiana counties: Gibson, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, and Warrick. We work with those who face the greatest barriers to safety, stability, and opportunity in order to bring out individual strengths and foster resiliency and self-sufficiency. Over the years, we have altered our programs to meet the changing need in our area, but our mission of offering a safe haven to people in need is as enduring as it was from day one.

YWCA Evansville actively empowers individuals and communities through advocacy, education, and support services, ensuring dignity for all.

YWCA MISSION

YWCA Local History

The YWCA of Evansville, IN, was established in 1911. Our original purpose was to provide safe, affordable housing for women who were coming from the country and outlying towns for employment in mills and factories. We've altered our programs over the years to meet the changing needs of women and children in our area, but our mission of offering a safe haven to women and children is as enduring as it was from day one.

Our programs focus on upward mobility and self-sufficiency through addressing emergency needs first, determining barriers to independence, helping clients create goals to overcome those barriers, providing support and case management through times of crisis and transition, and connecting clients to community resources that can maximize their success.

Current programs at the YWCA include a domestic violence shelter; an emergency housing program for the homeless; the YES! (YWCA Embracing Sobriety)program, a long-term residential program for homeless individuals recovering from substance abuse; and Live Y'ers, our after-school and mentoring program for vulnerable youth.

The YWCA actively empowers individuals and communities through advocacy, education, and support services, ensuring dignity for all.

Key Dates in YWCA History

  • 1858

    The first association in the U.S., Ladies Christian Association, formed in New York City

  • 1946

    Interracial Charter adopted, starting the process of desegregation

  • 1960s

    Membership and leadership positions opened to non-Christians

  • 1963

    Direct Action Program begun to ensure full desegregation in community YWCAs

  • 1970

    The One Imperative (“To thrust our collective power towards the elimination of racism, wherever it exists, by any means necessary.”) adopted

  • 2015

    Corporate name changed from “Young Women’s Christian Association of the United States of America, Inc.” to “YWCA USA, Inc.”

FAQs

  • Our local association serves hundreds of individuals annually through our residential housing programs, our Live Y’ers after-school and mentoring program, and our outreach efforts. Over 200 YWCA organizations throughout the country serve approximately 2 million women, men, girls and their families within the United States each year. World YWCA provides services to 25 million women and men in more than 120 countries.

  • YWCA Evansville is one of 200 local associations across the United States. Each local YWCA offers programming to meet the needs within their own communities. YWCA USA supports local associations by offering training, networking opportunities, special initiatives (such as Stand Against Racism and Week Without Violence), advocacy, and lobbying for policies that affect racial equality and women’s issues.

  • No. The 200+ YWCA organizations across the country each run their programs independently and receive no funding from YWCA USA.

  • No. People of many denominations and religious beliefs work, volunteer and receive services through YWCA.

  • In 2015, the corporate name was officially name from the “Young Women’s Christian Association of the United States of America, Inc.” to “YWCA USA, Inc.” Our name change reflects YWCA’s diverse and inclusive nature. In our early years it was “a Christian sisterhood” that drove our work. Today, our organization is driven by a commitment to social justice, no matter someone’s religion. Our updated name provides YWCA with the opportunity to engage a broader spectrum of individuals in our crucial work to eliminate racism and empower women.