Mental Health Awareness Month has been observed in the United States since 1949. Every year during the month of May, individuals and organizations throughout our community join the national movement to raise awareness about mental health. Together, we fight stigma, provide support, and educate or advocate for the people we know and care about, as well as for anyone in our community affected by mental illness. So, what does YWCA Northeast Indiana have to do with mental health?

At YWCA Northeast Indiana, we witness the debilitating effects that trauma and addiction can have in a person's life. In this edition, we share information about our therapy services in the Program Spotlight section below. We also share some content in our Don't Say/Do Say awareness campaign that offers better ways to talk about matters that can affect a person's mental health.

In addition to sharing information about our mental health services, we also want to share our excitement regarding the success of our recent Race Against Racism 5K Walk/Run event on April 29th, raising dollars for our racial justice programming. This was only the second year we have offered this event, but our numbers were amazing! We experienced a 94% increase in gross revenue over last year, a 47% increase in participant registrations, and the number of community partner tables doubled. A heart-felt thanks goes to all of our corporate sponsors and everyone who supported our racial justice work through your investment of time, talent, and treasure. We have pictures from the event posted on our Facebook page. Recognize anyone you know?

We are also excited to share that we had an estimated 60 attendees (in-person and online) join our recent Diversity Dialogues event, which took place on May 18th. Click here to watch the recording.

To spearhead our racial justice programming, we are pleased to introduce our new Racial Justice Coordinator, Heather Essex.

We also want to give a special shout out to PHP for investing in our health and wellness programming! Learn more in the Special Shout Out section below.

Additionally, we have two events coming up that you won't want to miss! The first event is our virtual Fashion Week fundraising event for our Dress for Success program. This event raises dollars for Dress for Success, which empowers women with low income to prepare for employment and healthy financial management so they can reach economic independence and exit poverty. Dress for Success provides professional suiting services and employment and financial coaching services to women with low income. Read more about how you can empower others with your financial resources below ($20 per vote!). Also, we are planning our next Coffee & Conversations event, The Power of Positive Gossip, scheduled for June 28th. This event is provided to women in our community at no cost. Stay tuned to our social media to learn who our fabulous speakers will be. Read more about both events below.

We also want to let you know about HealthVisions Midwest of Fort Wayne's event History Heals, which is a community conversation to bridge the gap between historical racism and issues that Fort Wayne residents experience today. Information about this event is also below.

Forgive the boastful moment, but we must share the anniversaries of three remarkable YWCA staff members: Bethany, Mary, and Ella. These ladies are fab-u-lous! Take a moment to get to know them, and you will quickly agree.

We want to thank you for all your ongoing support. We could not do what we do without you!

Mental Health & Wellness

YWCA’s clinical therapy services help people who have experienced sexual assault, domestic violence, addiction, or related traumas to process their experiences and emotions in a healthy way so they can move past barriers to healing and meeting their personal goals. Clinical therapy services are also available to family members of people who have experienced sexual assault, domestic violence, or addiction, and participants in therapy services do not have to be clients of YWCA’s other programs.

YWCA currently employs a three person therapy team supervised by the Director of Clinical & Recovery Services. Therapists meet one-on-one with clients and can also provide family therapy as well as facilitate support groups. During services, therapists focus on helping clients meet their goals across the 8 Dimensions of Wellness: physical, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, vocational, financial, and environmental.

The clinical therapy services team at YWCA facilitates support groups onsite for residents of YWCA’s domestic violence shelter and addiction recovery program. Support groups, which is an evidence-based practice, include: Self-Esteem, Healthy Relationships, Anger Management, Trauma Bonds, Sexual Assault Support, and Co-Parenting with an Abuser.

To connect with a YWCA therapist or refer someone for therapy, please reach out to therapyos@ywcaerew.org.

Changing the world one message at a time.

If a perpetrator could be identified by the way they look, everyone would stay far away. Perpetrators can often present themselves as charming in order to lure people in and to make it harder for the victim to be believed if they report the crime.

As with many health concerns, there can be an initial public stigma, at least until we make a concerted effort to work towards eliminating that stigma. One way to do that is working towards changing people’s perceptions through conversations. Someone you know may desperately want to talk to a therapist but is afraid someone will see them going into a therapist’s office and think they are "weak" or "crazy."

YWCA Northeast Indiana's 24/7 Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Crisis Line is free and confidential: 800.441.4073

To see all of our Don't Say/Do Say messages, please visit our website. 

Dress for Success Virtual Fashion Week

YWCA’s Dress for Success program empowers women with low income to prepare for employment and healthy financial management so they can reach economic independence and exit poverty. Dress for Success provides professional suiting services and employment and financial coaching services to women with low income.

During Fashion Week, women from our community will model outfits from our very own Dress for Success Boutique! You can vote for your favorite outfit or models by donating $20 to the Dress for Success program. All sponsors will receive free votes to cast as part of their sponsorship package. The model with the most votes will win two free tickets (a $200 value) for our Circle event on October 19, 2023. All proceeds generated will benefit YWCA’s Dress for Success program, helping women to become self-sufficient.

Meet the 2023 Models

Stay tuned, more information will be posted to our social media and added to our website soon!

HealthVisions Midwest of Fort Wayne: History Heals

History Heals is a community conversation to bridge the gap between historical racism and issues that Fort Wayne residents experience today. The forum will provide education and a Q&A with local experts. Ideally, it will serve as an agent for enlightenment and healing, as well as an opportunity for questions and discussion.

This free event is from 6-8pm on June 13th at the Allen County Public Library

Coffee & Conversations

The Power of Positive Gossip

Coffee & Conversations is an opportunity for women in the community to discuss pertinent topics about how to be successful in the business sphere, public square, or in personal growth and development. YWCA Northeast Indiana invites women to come together in conversation for this free quarterly series.

Evidence shows that helping others can have a positive effect on your own mental health and wellbeing. Gossip can be a good thing, depending on what we are saying. Let's change the negative we say about others to positive, empowering messages about others.

What is Persimmon Pride? Persimmon is the orange pantone color of our YWCA brand. Internally, #PersimmonPride is more than a hashtag or mantra. It is a belief in the impact the YWCA team is having in our community. It's more than a saying. It is who we are and what we believe in.

"I choose to work at YWCA because as a woman it is important to me to both empower and be empowered by other women. It is inspiring everyday to work alongside such strong, compassionate professionals."

-Bethany (Advocate Coordinator)

"I started working at YWCA to gain experience since I am about to graduate with a BSW. It has opened up my eyes and heart to realize that my passion is with serving those struggling with addiction."

-Mary (Client Care Technician)

"I chose to work at YWCA Northeast Indiana because the mission and vision are so close to my heart. I continue to stay because I never question if my work has an impact, I see this impact daily. This work is so important and if not me, then who?"

-Ella (Community Education Coordinator)

The passion from our staff, in addition to the unending support from our community, is what makes our work possible. Thank you to our staff and the northeast Indiana community for your support!

Pictured left to right: Michelle Kearns (PHP), Paula Hughes-Schuh (CEO, YWCA Northeast Indiana), and Gail Doran (PHP)

Goldstein Family Scholarship Program

Donate

We have recently updated our Amazon Wish List with current needs, including needs for clients and operations needs. Your purchases can be sent directly to our location.

If you would like to financially support YWCA Northeast Indiana, you can access our donation page by following the link below: