Caring for All Mothers

Closing Out Week Without Violence

All this week, we have highlighted our dedicated partners in Western North Carolina as we’ve participated in YWCA USA’s Week Without Violence (WWV). The theme of this year’s WWV has been “Safe Beginnings: Protecting Mothers, Nurturing Futures” and we have been proud to hold up the work we do alongside Babies Need Bottoms, Sistas Caring 4 Sistas, the Family Justice Center, Our Voice, Helpmate, and Pisgah Legal. Week Without Violence ends today with a focus on the critical role of legal systems in protecting mothers and their children, and we wanted to wrap this week up with a shout out to our own Women’s Empowerment Program and Assistant Director Crystal Reid. 

As the topics for this past week emphasize, getting out of an abusive situation is not easy, and there are many physical, emotional, and financial barriers to leaving. Getting Ahead (In a Just Gettin’ By World) (GA) is an eight-week, sixteen-session program aimed at giving low- and middle-income women the tools and resources they need to achieve financial stability and understand the root causes of poverty. The financial literacy that GA provides is valuable, but just as valuable is the creation of a women’s support group for participants. Participants use tools they gain in class to strategize tough situations and learn to reach out to and lean on each other for support. Many of the GA women are survivors of domestic violence, and they recognize that without financial stability and independence, the path forward for them and their children is even more difficult. GA, with Crystal in the lead, gives them support, knowledge, and hope.

Crystal sees each GA cohort as an opportunity to highlight the resources the YW is able to provide right here in our building, as well as those our partners offer. The YW’s Women’s Empowerment Program wraps support around women from many directions. While Getting Ahead takes participants on a deep dive into the root causes of poverty and possible ways out, MotherLove offers resources and mentoring to young parents and parents-to-be. 

At the end of this month, Getting Ahead will graduate one of its largest cohorts ever – 19 women will complete the program and take the next step forward with the support of Crystal and the Women’s Empowerment Program.

The YW’s Week Without Violence has special meaning for Crystal. As Crystal says, her mother “grew empowerment throughout the community” working one-on-one with women experiencing domestic violence through Helpmate, a YWCA partner.

“The Week Without Violence helps me to go a little bit harder for the women in our community; coordinating Getting Ahead and MotherLove allows me to strengthen women in numbers, in a safe environment where they can not only adapt to certain situations in life, they also can survive and thrive through difficult times with support from our team. Finally, I want to tell anyone reading this, if you know someone, or you are someone, seeking support or in need of help with empowering yourself, know that the YWCA will welcome you to be a part of our non-violent, antiracist, and empowering family with open arms.”