YWCA Missoula

YWCA Missoula is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. Our direct services and advocacy are designed to end domestic and sexual violence, provide shelter for homeless families, change lives and transform the Missoula community.

We accomplish this through our five programs. Through our Pathways program, we are invested in creating real change for real people, which means offering a range of ongoing support for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Clients can reach advocates through our 24-hour hotline, walk-in counseling, and weekly support groups. Pathways also provides in-house therapy, children's services, and referrals for legal, personal, and medical advocacy.

For divorced and separated families affected by violence, our Planet Kids Supervised Visitation and exchange Center offers safe, monitored exchanges and on-site supervised visits. Being able to provide positive interactions between children and parents not only ensures a child's safety, but also the safety of a parent who may not have a safe way to initiate visitation, or who may not want contact with the other parent.

Homeless families come to the YWCA Housing Program because the YWCA is one of the few organizations that provides temporary of emergency housing to homeless one and two parent families. Residents work closely with staff to secure permanent housing and economic security. Every family is different, so our services must be just as diverse as our clients' needs. The YWCA provides emergency housing, long-term transitional housing, and rental assistance for permanent housing.

Our Racial Justice Initiative puts civil rights at the forefront of our work, with an inclusive staff and volunteer team and strong relationships with organizations led by and serving people of color. In continuation of a long tradition of civil rights history, we host annual teach-ins and anti-oppression training in direct response to community concerns.

Inspiring young women to take action for themselves and their community, the GUTS! Program ( Girls Using Their Strength) empowers girls and young women to become the next generation of strong female leaders. Girls in our Guts! summer and after-school programs explore personal values, complete service projects, build healthy relationships, and discover their strengths.

In addition to staff , YWCA services are provided in large part by volunteers, members of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps VISTA, and practicum and intern students. The dedication of our volunteers allows us to serve the women, children, and families who need our help, 24 hours a day. Generous financial contributions from Missoula community members support the day-to-day needs of the YWCA program participants and have a large-scale impact of the services we provide in the community. In addition to our passionate volunteers and donors, proceeds from purchases and donations at the YWCA Secret Seconds Thrift Stores directly support our programs and services while providing participants the opportunity to shop, using free vouchers, for items they need as they rebuild their lives.

YWCA Missoula is an organization for people of all ages, races, genders, and faiths. Each year we touch the lives of many people in need of safety, stable housing, trauma-informed care, or youth development. Here is a glimpse of the impact of YWCA Missoula for the last fiscal year 2017.

The YWCA Missoula, through our five programs, served over 2600 people, the majority of whom were low-income women.

Planet Kids coordinated 1,968 safe visits and exchanges to 150 families including 130 children.

GUTS! empowered 212 girls all over Missoula through summer and after-school programs and trade exploration workshops.

The YWCA is the primary housing provider for homeless in Missoula. Through Ada's Place, our housing program, the YWCA provided safe shelter for 918 people including 485 children.

Pathways provided crisis counseling, support, and safety to over 1300 survivors of interpersonal violence.

Our Racial Justice Initiative developed the Montana Racial Equity Report as a tool for racial justice programming at organizations across the state of Montana.