Hey there!

As the weather starts to get warmer, I hope that you are feeling a renewed sense of hope and purpose for the road ahead. In addition to all the amazing work you're doing, remember to take a moment for yourself: get outside, breathe some fresh air, and soak up some good sunlight!

We've been feeling this rejuvenating sense of joy ourselves as we get to know our two new hires and prep for the upcoming Gender Joy Art Show! Having some good news to lift our spirits has only reinvigorated our commitment to our commUNITY, and we hope the same is true for you as the fight to eliminate racism and empower women continues to ramp up.

This month's newsletter has some great ways to get involved, updates on our amazing programs, and a check in with what our young leaders have been up to - but before you get to all of that great stuff, take a deep breath and check in with yourself. We are so happy you're here!

With peace, gratitude, and solidarity,

Ellie Norvitch

YWCA Duluth Marketing and Outreach Intern

Federal officials want to lengthen the time period for asylum seekers to get work authorization from 180 days to 365 days; this rule would significantly restrict work authorization for people seeking asylum in the United States. 

DHS has been accepting public comments for 60 days. Use the sample comment below to let them know you are against this change by April 24th. You can submit your comment here.

"I am writing as a concerned member of the public regarding the proposed rule on employment authorization for asylum seekers.

Asylum applicants are legally allowed to remain in the United States while their cases are pending. Preventing them from working for extended periods does not solve administrative backlogs. It creates instability for families and communities.

Tying work authorization to government processing times places the burden of delay on people who have no control over those delays.

I urge DHS to reconsider this proposal and preserve timely access to lawful employment."

One of our Spring 2026 Young Leaders, Ellie, has written an open letter opposing the SAVE Act currently on the Senate floor. If you have TikTok, liking, commenting, and interacting with this post will allow us greater visibility to reach our community and encourage them to oppose this harmful act!

Raktima recently joined YWCA Duluth as part of the New Neighbors program. In her role, she supports immigrants and refugees by connecting them with the resources they need to build stability, confidence and a sense of belonging in their new community. This includes helping find legal assistance, food support, housing options or help navigating everyday challenges.

Want to learn more about Raktima? Click Here!

Leah recently joined YWCA Duluth as the Community Engagement and Policy Coordinator for YWCA Duluth. In this role, she facilitates the Childcare Implementation Task Force to build equitable, community-led solutions for local families. Leah’s work sits at the intersection of educational equity, gender justice and systemic reform.

Want to learn more about Leah? Click Here!

In their short time with our organization, Ellie and Maria have...

• Researched and organized childcare provider resources for our Childcare Implementation Task Force
• Created a presentation to encourage nonprofits in our area to join MN for Equal Rights, a MN Equal Rights Amendment coalition (Beth is an active steering committee member!)
• Led qualitative data analysis for our 2025 community assessment, coding and synthesizing insights from five distinct community groups - mothers and gender expansive parents, women under 30, immigrant/refugee/international students, and women in the trades - for our use in new program and initiative creation
• Built an 8-page interactive HTML dashboard to present community findings in a visually accessible and organized format, designed with our brand colors and intended for board-level review
• And more!

Please join us in congratulating them on their amazing work so far!

Email Ellie

Email Maria