Ywca Duluth

Spirit valley Young mothers program houses and serves about 45 Young mothers ages 16-21 and their children each year. Advocates facilitate economic self-sufficiency by working with moms to access education, employment, medical care, and childcare assistance. Additional services include case management, parenting classes, money management, self-esteem building, life skills, and homework assistance. Participants are all living in poverty and experiencing homelessness prior to entering the program. In 2023, 10 Young women resided at the Young mothers program and 55 community members, some being past residents, attended groups at the program that focused on parenting skills, health and wellness, and gaining independence. These groups are held every wednesday afternoon. of our 10 residents, 9 of them worked towards graduating high school or earning their ged. One had acquired a full time job by the end of the year.

Gender equity projectthe gender equity project is made up of two initiatives. The first is a partnership with the Minnesota Women's foundation to create a Duluth cabinet modeled after their statewide cabinet. This cabinet is a leadership and action cohort of diverse female-identifying, non-binary, and gender expansive program participants ages 16-24. This cohort will focus on learning and doing with all aspects decided by the Young people themselves. In 2023, eight Young women participated. of those, 25% were biracial, 12.5% were native american, and 12.5% were black.the second initiative of the gender equity project is the annual gender equity summit, a gathering of women, girls, and people who identify as nonbinary, transgender, or genderqueer. The goal is to create connections and partnerships, build leadership skills and opportunities, create opportunities for self-care and healing, and build collective power to make social change. Survey results from the first summit held in november 2023 indicate that participants felt they gained skills for being a better leader, and experienced opportunities for healing, connection, belonging, and joy. 61 people attended the 2023 summitt.

Spirit valley early childhood center utilizes developmentally appropriate anti-bias and early literacy curricula to prepare children, especially highly at-risk children for school. The center maintains a four-star parent aware rating, the highest Minnesota rating possible. Additional wrap-around services include early childhood mental health screenings, circle of security attachment-theory parenting groups along with family nights and field trips that provided both fun and educational opportunities that our families may otherwise not have had access to due to finances, transportation, lack of resources, etc. In 2023, we served 50 children and their families, of which 46% were at or far below the poverty line. of those served, 12% were african american, 2% were american indian (native), 46% were white and 40% identified as from more than one racial background or ethnicity.