Ywca of Eastern Union County

Emergency shelter - the emergency shelter provides a safe, comfortable environment for victims and their children in need of immediate safety. The shelter is in an undisclosed location, and staffed 24/7 by caring and compassionate shelter advocates. The welcoming home-like atmosphere is fostered by special events throughout the year including holiday celebrations, self-care activities, children enrichment experiences and seasonal workshops. In 2022 throughout the year we hosted onsite events where residents could 'shop' for back-to- school supplies, thanksgiving meals, winter gear and holiday toys. Additionally, art classes, music workshops, and special self-care events like yoga were conducted for residents and their children.

Family justice center & court advocacy-- on september 13,2022, the family justice center celebrated the five year anniversary of opening. Having served over 2,702 clients in the first five years, providing clients with nearly 7,000 referrals and providing over 15,000 individual services, the fjc team is looking forward to the next five years. In 2022, the fjc team worked with 595 clients and the court advocates, based out the fjc, provided support to an additional 379.

Pals- the pals program provides services to the non-offending parent and children between the ages of 3-17 years old. The goal of the pals program is trauma reduction through creative arts. The program provides six months of creative arts therapy services to children using diverse creative arts modalities such a drama and movement, art and music therapy. Creative arts therapists focus on pals goals such as: increasing personal sense of safety, improving emotional wellbeing and communication skills, and developing healthy relationships. Individual therapists and a case manager provide the non-offending parent with resources, referrals and counseling services. Pals was thrilled to re-open our doors for in-person sessions with children in 2022. When given a choice between in-person and virtual, as the year went on, more and more clients chose to come back in-person.

Served hundreds of individuals through services including counseling, domestic violence response teams, supportive housing, case management, children's services and community/professional education.