Pet Advocate Needed for Shelter Family!

The YWCA Pet Advocate program is in need of a Pet Advocate to foster a 7-year-old female boxer/pit bull mix and her adorable 1-month old puppy. The dogs' owner, *Samantha, is staying at the YWCA domestic violence shelter with her four children. She came to Missoula after fleeing from her abusive partner in another state and knows absolutely no one in the community who can care for her dogs. 

The dogs have been staying with another Pet Advocate for almost two months and are now in need of another temporary home. Samantha has worked incredibly hard to secure permanent, safe housing for her family and is only a few weeks away from receiving assistance to move into her new home! We need to find a placement for the dogs ASAP to avoid having to take them to the Humane Society, where they could risk adoption. The YWCA provides food for the dogs – you just need to provide a safe home and lots of LOVE!

Posted by Lisa Bruce, Ada's Place Emergency Housing case manager

*Name changed to protect confidentiality.

YWCA Provides a Gateway to Housing for Homeless Families

YWCA Missoula's Gateway Assessment Center - part of our Ada's Place program - offers seven motel rooms to house homeless families for up to 50 days. Our case manager meets with homeless families on a weekly basis for intake and assessment and provides referrals for finding employment, housing, transportation and legal counsel.

YWCA Missoula's Emergency Housing program provides motel room stays of up to 50 days for homeless families.

Fifty days can feel like a short amount of time to wrangle housing, employment, and resources. Many of our families, however, rise above expectations and are well on their way to stable housing upon exiting the program. These successes inspire us in our work and give us energy to continue with the work we do.

YWCA volunteers provide cooked meals for families in our motel rooms, as they don't often have the time or the tools to prepare meals.

One of our successful families is the *Smith family. Judd and Amanda Smith relocated to Missoula so their small child could be closer to their extended family. After arriving in Missoula, they discovered they could not stay with that family as they had originally planned, forcing them to sleep in their car. Judd and Amanda contacted the Gateway Assessment Center shortly after arriving in Missoula and were placed on the waiting list very quickly. Amanda secured employment in a field that she loves after one week of entering Emergency Housing. I'm happy to report that the Smith's worked diligently to secure permanent housing and were recently awarded funds through the Emergency Solutions Grant to move into a home of their own!

Before moving into our motel rooms, many families sleep in their cars packed full of their belongings. During the summer, some families camp out in tents. 

 Posted by Abigail, Ada's Place AmeriCorps VISTA

*Names changed to protect confidentiality. 

Join Our Team!

Join a team of dynamic, passionate and hardworking women dedicated to making Missoula a safe and welcoming place for everyone. 

Pathways Clinical Coordinator
The Pathways Clinical Coordinator is responsible for providing clinical supervision and expertise to the YWCA staff and volunteers. Specifically, this position will oversee the Sexual Assault Services and the Support Group program. Additionally, the Clinical Coordinator will supervise and train graduate students to provide clinical services, offer clinical services to YWCA clients. Application deadline is May 27. For full job description, visit our website. 

Secret Seconds Thrift Stores Clerk

We are seeking a part-time store clerk to work in our two thrift stores moving merchandise and displays and providing excellent customer service. Must be friendly and be able to learn and communicate about YWCA programs. Candidates must also have basic math skills, be able to lift at least 40 pounds, have current driver's license and reliable transportation. Previous retail experience is helpful. The store clerk will work weekends and varied weekdays; work hours are between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., 33 hours per week. Wage is $8.00 per hour. For full job description, visit our website. 

AmeriCorps VISTA Position

Ada's Place
YWCA seeks a VISTA to address the community issues of homelessness and domestic violence. The goal of the first VISTA Project is completion of an assessment of the Transitional Housing Program which was developed and administered during the first and second year of the project. Completion of the assessment will lead to the creation of procedures and practices to fill some of the identified gaps in services. The VISTA will also continue efforts to secure resources to support expansion of the transitional housing program. The VISTA member will conduct focus groups to improve the Transitional Housing (TH) program, give outreach presentations regarding YWCA Missoula services, write grant applications and reports, and measures to assure sustainability of the program improvements. These efforts will allow YWCA of Missoula to reach one of their goals of reducing poverty by empowering women and children in the community, breaking the cycle of violence, and creating a safe and welcoming community for all. Visit the AmeriCorps website to learn more. 

Posted by Elizabeth Harrison, communications manager

GUTSY Summer Happenings!

Ahhhh Springtime! In Missoula, spring is the beginning of warm weather, Chaco sandals and outdoor barbecues. For the YWCA's Girls Using Their Strengths (GUTS!) program, springtime means wrapping up our after-school and lunchtime groups to make way for mapping our routes, dusting off backpacks, patching tents, applying for backpacking permits and prepping girls for our Summer Outdoor Adventures! 

It's easy to tell that summer is on its way just by looking at our office: Piles of tents, bear spray, a box full of craft supplies and Tupperware boxes overflowing with cooking supplies. I know what you’re thinking…”What an easy job you have! You get to go outside and hang out with kids all day!” I will say that my job is absolutely fun and extremely rewarding. But what you might not know is that for every day spent outside with the groups, there are several days spent planning, preparing gear and food, securing permits, and recruiting and training staff and volunteers.

The GUTS! program is so fortunate to have great women who dedicate their time to making summer trips happen! And with that I’ll introduce you to some of our key players for GUTS! Summer 2013 (in addition to our year-round full-time staff: myself and Erin Barstow, program coordinator)

Genevieve Day

Gen is originally from Illinois and signed up for her first GUTS! trip as a shy 11-year-old on a recommendation of her grandmother who lives in Missoula. Gen has a big heart and a keen curiosity for science and outdoor education. Gen will be joining us for her 11th summer as a trip leader!

Kaya Juda-Nelson

Kaya is a born and raised Missoula woman and is also a graduating GUTS! girl. Kaya is now a student at the University of Montana and spent last summer completing a National Outdoor Leadership (NOLS) course in South America.  We’re happy to bring Kaya on as a first-year AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associate!

Lillian Kendall

Lily, originally from New Hampshire, is a senior in the Community Health program at the University of Montana. Lily is our Summer Outdoor Adventure PlanningIintern and has been hard at work organizing our new bike day camp for girls ages 9 to 11. Lily likes to bike, hike, run and cook and will be helping to lead the bike day camp!

To sign up for a GUTS! Summer Outdoor Adventure, contact Roe at 406-543-6691 or rerin@ywcaofmissoula.org.

Posted by Roe Erin, YWCA Missoula GUTS! Program Manager

YWCA Missoula Hiring AmeriCorps VISTAs for Domestic Violence and Housing Programs

The YWCA depends on hundreds of volunteers to help provide services to men, women, and children in our community. Volunteers cook meals, answer the crisis line and facilitate support groups - just to name a few. 

Some volunteers dedicate an entire year of full-time service in our Pathways Children’s Program and Transitional Housing Programs. These AmeriCorps Volunteers In Service to America (VISTA) build capacity for YWCA programs by applying for grant funding, creating databases to better track grant information, organizing children’s advocate volunteers, and giving presentations to community members about our services. The YWCA also utilizes other AmeriCorps programs such as Jesuit Volunteer Corps, Senior Corps and Compact Service Corps.

YWCA AmeriCorps service members during a recent visit by Missoula Mayor John Engen. 

Our 2012-2013 VISTAs are finishing their term this summer, and we are looking for enthusiastic applicants for the 2013-2014 service year! Please see the link below for application material:

Transitional Housing VISTA

Posted by Hattie, AmeriCorps VISTA - Pathways

YWCA Missoula Secret Seconds Thrift Store Still Open During Expansion!

Some exciting changes are happening at the YWCA Missoula Secret Seconds Thrift Store on Broadway. You may have heard that we’re expanding! Our new store will be about twice as big, with 5800 square feet of added space. So we’ll be able to fit way more stuff and some larger items like furniture. 

And don’t worry, we plan to stay open the entire time construction is under way—even when the north-facing wall is knocked out. You can enjoy the lovely summer breeze while you shop! 

Our new store should hopefully be done around August. Of course, we will be taking donations throughout the summer, and they are greatly appreciated. We have been filling our racks with great summer stuff, so come check out the pretty sundresses, shorts, bathing suits, and sandals. You never know what you’re going to find at Secret Seconds!  

Posted by Shelby Duncan, Secret Seconds Thrift Stores sales associate

Planet Kids, Supervised Visitation

What is Supervised Visitation?

          Supervised visitation allows parents in high conflict or high-risk situations access to their children in a safe and supervised environment.  Supervised visitation is used to protect children and the custodial parents from potentially dangerous situations while allowing parental access for the non-custodial parents and providing support for the parent child relationship. It is often court-ordered and can be put into a parenting plan.

What do the monitors do during visits?

         Monitors help to provide a safe and warm environment for the visits to take place. When needed, they do model parenting and help in facilitating games or other healthy activities. Monitors redirect negative conversations or any talk of violence. Non-custodial parents and children are not allowed to discuss court or legal issues as well as any issues between the parents. The visits are about enjoying the parent and child relationship in a safe and fun (toy-filled) center.

What are the advantages of using Planet Kids?

 

        Planet Kids is the only grant funded (currently funded by a three-year grant through the Office on Violence Against Women) supervised visitation center in the state of Montana. There is never any contact between the custodial and non-custodial parents for safety reasons and to prevent more highly stressful situations. Planet Kids is a neutral center that does not give therapeutic or legal advice to either party, providing a neutral place for visits. Planet Kids is filled with lots of fun games and toys for parents and children to play together as well as a partial kitchen for cooking family meals and snacks together. 

Posted by Amber, Planet Kids visit monitor

Racial Justice Through Health Care

“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.”

- Dr. Martin Luther King

We have all seen firsthand how America’s flawed health care system hurts our clients, our colleagues, our friends and our families. Because the YWCA is committed to racial justice, we also recognize that some Americans face more challenges than others when accessing and receiving health care services. In Montana, American Indians face significant barriers to accessing quality health care, including mistreatment by providers, long drives in bad weather to reach facilities, chronic underfunding of clinics and staff, and cultural differences in communication. These factors have created a health care crisis that demands action.

Of the 33 states with significant Native populations, Montana ranks the highest of any state in uninsured American Indians and the second lowest in the number of American Indians with private insurance. Montana, however, has the highest number of American Indians who report having access to underfunded Indian Health Service (IHS) clinics. IHS clinics serve eligible American Indians regardless of insurance status, but federal funding for these clinics only covers 60% of the need. This underfunding contributes to health disparities for a population that is already disproportionately affected by chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.

YWCA Missoula’s mission is to eliminate racism and empower women. On a daily basis, we bear witness to the affects a lack of insurance and underfunding of Indian Health Service facilities has on Native women and their families – many of whom are entering our programs as a result of a lifetime of domestic violence and/or partner abuse.

Nancy*, a 26-year-old Native woman, recently came to the YWCA with her five-year-old son, Jason. After making the brave decision to leave her abusive partner, she found herself homeless and sought out the YWCA’s transitional housing program. Through the program she was able to afford an apartment for her and her son, which in turn helped her to secure full-time work making minimum wage at a local retail store. However, getting this job presented a double-edged sword for Nancy – once she began working, she lost her Medicaid because wages from her new job pushed her over the income limit. Nancy doesn’t make enough money to pay for the health care her employer provides. Should she choose to try to access a nearby IHS clinic, she would likely experience a lack of access to quality care, including preventative care for her and her son.

This legislative session, Montana had a unique opportunity to improve healthcare for American Indians like Nancy by expanding Medicaid. If Montana policymakers had chosen to take advantage of this opportunity, almost 20,000 American Indians who are newly eligible for Medicaid, including those who rely on IHS facilities, would have seen improvements in their healthcare. These 20,000 American Indians are part of a larger pool of 60,000 newly eligible Montanans.

If Montana had chosen to expand Medicaid, Nancy would have qualified for benefits and would not have had to cut her hours or turn down promotions just to keep herself and her son healthy. Without an expansion to Medicaid, many Native women like Nancy, who are already facing additional barriers in finding housing, employment and childcare due to discrimination, will have to make tough choices between working and earning more or keeping their health benefits.

Hard-working American Indian families need the security of quality health coverage to get the care they need when they need it without facing overwhelming medical bills. Thanks to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, Montana has successfully brought the uninsured rate for children down to record lows. It is time to help their uninsured parents get coverage too so that the whole family can get the care they need to stay healthy – like getting mom’s blood pressure checked and getting her son the asthma medication he needs.

Opting out of the Medicaid expansion doesn’t make moral sense. It leaves thousands of Montana’s American Indian families like Nancy and her son exposed, unable to afford health insurance but not able to participate in Medicaid. For more information about Medicaid expansion, visit the Families USA Medicaid Expansion Center.

Posted by Elizabeth L. Harrison, Communications Manager

*Name changed to protect confidentiality.

This post originally appeared as part of the YWCA USA Stand Against Racism blog carnival on issues of race, justice and diversity. Twitter hashtag #StandAgainstRacism. - See more at: http://www.ywcablog.com/2013/04/26/racial-justice-through-health-care/#sthash.Dmux97na.EZXTQms9.dpbs