898 Walnut Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Emergency Domestic Violence Shelter Services Program
YWCA Greater Cincinnati is the largest domestic violence agency in Southwest Ohio, serving over 22,000 individuals annually. YWCA believes all survivors and children deserve the right to live a life free from hate, abuse and poverty. YWCA provides the ONLY option for specialized shelter services in Hamilton and Clermont counties. Due to Covid-19, YWCA was forced to move all families to hotels in March 2020. YWCA also: enhanced laundry/cleaning protocols, modified food preparation/delivery, hired 24-hour security guards to monitor survivors’ hotel rooms, and purchased tablets and/or cell phones for survivors and children to participate in telehealth appointments. In order to ensure children were provided with the technology and support necessary to achieve educational success, YWCA also partnered with Project Connect to have a teacher on-site at the hotel Monday through Friday to assist children with remote/online schooling. The Dater Foundation’s support was critical during this time as it supported the salary of the Children’s Coordinator position along with the materials and tools necessary to address the educational, cognitive, development, and socio-emotional needs of children entering YWCA’s shelter services during Covid-19.
Read these Success Stories …
The YWCA's Children’s Coordinator shared these words about the impact of the children services program.
I had a 3-year-old boy with a speech delay. Through play sessions 3 times a week, I helped the child work on pronunciation. He also attended speech therapy twice a week at Children’s Hospital. When he exited shelter, he was able to say his ABCs, pronounce the letters correctly, count to 20, and identify numbers. However, he had trouble regulating his emotions when it was time to stop playing so we started using a countdown method. Eventually he was able to self-regulate and end our play sessions without a problem.
I had a girl in the 12th grade who wanted to be a dentist. I explained to her the steps and we got started. We applied to all Universities that had a dental program. I helped her work on her personal statement and we followed up together contacting the colleges. I am happy to report she was accepted to college. Additionally, due to loss of income while in shelter, her mother was unable to afford a prom dress. I worked with Kenzies Closet to get her fitted with a dress.
I had a 12-year-old girl who struggled in math and history and was due to repeat the 7th grade. Her mother and I came up with a plan for her to meet with me twice a week so I could help her with her homework. I also had her mother speak with her teacher to gather all the missing work she needed to complete. I am happy to report she successfully completed 7th grade.
Click on any photo to enlarge.
