ROCK SPRINGS – The YWCA of Sweetwater County recently received a grant from the United Way of Southwest Wyoming totaling $49,600 for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
According to the YWCA, the funding supports its domestic violence and sexual assault prevention services, along with its financial education classes.
The organization has undergone a number of changes during the past year, with its most notable being the change to the domestic violence and sexual assault prevention advocacy program. The YWCA says the changes aim to make the program more visible and allow it to reach out to a new neighborhood. Changes within the program impacted staff, its location and its name.
The YWCA Victims Advocacy Center, now located at 147 K Street, provides advocacy, support and resources for survivors of forms of domestic violence, human trafficking and stalking. The organization also provides an emergency shelter for victims and their family, along with a 24-hour crisis line staffed by trained advocates. Last year, the center served 431 clients.
Another initiative the YWCA spearheads is through its Financial Empowerment Program, which offers residents free basic financial education classes. The classes are tailored to fit participants in the class and offer flexible scheduling and one-on-one sessions to help clients build goals for their financial future.
“This is a class that no one thinks they will want or need but end up really enjoying and finding new things they can do for their financial future,” Program Director Cory Darlington said.
The United Way also supports the YWCA each year with its Helping Hands Day projects, which include painting, yard work and setting up play equipment.
The YWCA has been a community partner with the United Way for nearly the entire time the YWCA has operated in Sweetwater County.
“I was looking through old records and found that YWCA reached out to United Way within the first five years of our creation,” YWCA Executive Director Melinda Baas said. “We very much appreciate that United Way has been and will continue to be there for YWCA.”
Residents interested in volunteering for the YWCA or learning more about its programs can reach out through its Facebook page, visiting its website or calling the YWCA main office at 352-6635 or the Victims Advocacy Center at 382-3124.
