As one of the oldest women’s organizations in the Central Texas area, the Young Women’s Christian Association was originally founded in 1885 to provide social and religious opportunities for women students at the University of Texas at Austin.
Since dropping the religious affiliation and incorporating in the state of Texas as “YWCA Greater Austin” in 1907, they have been fighting for equality and justice for everyone in our community. Now serving over 4500 women, girls, and their families annually, YWCA continues to predominately focus on women, but their services are open to all genders and ages.
From desegregation and voting rights, to violence prevention and healthcare reform, YWCA has continually focused on empowering the community through their supportive counseling and referrals, their volunteer and training institute and ongoing advocacy.
Client Services
The YWCA Greater Austin Counseling and Referral Center (YWCRC) provides services such as mental health therapy and support, consultation, referrals, Care Coordination, life skills, personal empowerment programs and professional development training. The Care Coordination team works with clients to provide information and connections to resources as well as skills and educational development.
YWCA Greater Austin offers counseling for individuals, couples, families, and groups at reduced fees using a sliding scale. Thanks to sponsor funding, no-cost therapy is available for women veterans and their families and the Asian and Pacific Islander community. Right now, there is no wait for services! Call today to schedule a counseling or Care Coordination appointment: 512-326-1222.
Raising Hands & Turning Heads
YWCA Greater Austin's first documented education and training experience dates to 1920. Now as a regionally recognized volunteer and training institute, they provide workshops for the community on a variety of topics. They offer workshops (currently virtual) built around social change to eliminate racism, empower women, and bring light to issues such as economic disparities, gender and racial discrimination, and implicit bias.
Their next big event is not one to be missed! With at least 30 sessions and 40 speakers, YWCA Greater Austin will be providing the “Not JUST Mental Health Symposium” to highlight the multiple layers of oppression generated through racist patriarchal ideologies and the impact on society’s mental health. Starting Tuesday, October 27th and continuing through the 29th, the goal is to have as many different voices heard as possible and to highlight diverse stories. Tickets are on sale now. It's easy to register and you can find out more about this event here: https://Whova.com/web/mhsnj_202010/
Following their symposium, YWCA Greater Austin will hold their Monthly Dialogue on Issues of Racism and Discrimination. Since 2014, YWCA Greater Austin has held these Monthly Dialogues on the last Friday of every month. October’s will be focused on voting rights. The dialogues offer a safe space to engage with others in frank discussions, reflection, and contemplation of the psychological and emotional impact that racism/discrimination have on the individual and the community.
Whether the issues are local, statewide, nation, or global YWCA Greater Austin’s Monthly Dialogues are a space for all voices to be heard. People often share resources and information about events, there are calls to action, petitions, and simply an open platform for discussion. You can register for upcoming dialogues here: https://ywcaatx2020.eventbrite.com.
Advancement Through Advocacy
Advocacy, as defined by YWCA Greater Austin, is highlighting inequities and uplifting the voices of those marginalized by racist and discriminatory systems. This work is accomplished through calls for legislative action and policy change as well as through their programs and events which address the root causes of gender and racial injustice from the personal to the professional and institutional.
Recently the City of Austin declared racism a public health crisis. Effective July 2020, YWCA Greater Austin, established an advocacy committee to enforce the continuous efforts of advocating for the health of their clients, engaging in awareness campaigns with the community about mental health issues at large, and providing equity driven data to support our city’s statement.
While advocacy is all about initiating social change, this cannot be achieved in just one conversation, or through one donation. Social change is time-consuming, requires immense planning, and thrives on small actions from many people, rather than big ones from a few.
From large platform discussions and education through training, to social media posts, newsletters and campaigns, YWCA Greater Austin promotes racial justice and civil rights in a variety of ways on behalf of numerous individuals and groups within our community.
Teaming Up with Technology
A Client with CTTS since 2012, we are proud to help manage the various technologies that keep the YWCA Greater Austin up and running. When the stay-at-home order was enacted, CTTS assisted their transition to a remote work environment. With new laptops, Microsoft Teams, an existing VoIP solution, and proactive monitoring software for easy maintenance, system statistics and reports, CTTS can make sure all their important data is safe, secure, and easily accessible in the event of a disaster situation.
Recently, when an unexpected hardware failure caused their server to be unbootable, CTTS was able to quickly migrate their local domain to Azure AD, a cloud-based Active Directory system. We also auto piloted their systems so that, when they do return to the office or change computers, they simply need to sign in.
Keeping the Hope Alive
Like all nonprofit organizations, it is the volunteers and interns, donations and sponsors that help to support their mission and keep YWCA Greater Austin alive and well. The easiest way to become involved and show your support is to sponsor or attend an event, like the upcoming mental health symposium:
https://Whova.com/web/mhsnj_202010/.
There are many volunteering opportunities as well, and while most of their volunteers and interns are college aged or postgraduate, any age is welcome – from high school to the retirement community. Now that YWCA Greater Austin has gone virtual, they need help with social media content creation, reception, grant applications, event planning, and more.
For more information on YWCA Greater Austin events, opportunities, programs, and services, visit their website here: https://YWCAaustin.org/ or call 512-326-1222.