In the late 1880s three young Utica women gathered together with a committed interest in creating a "women's class and reading room" for girls working in local factories. Founded in 1885, the group blossomed into the Utica YWCA and the rest, as they say, is history.
The work and service provided by thousands of YWCA-affiliated women is the foundation of what is now known as YWCA Mohawk Valley. Employing the mission of empowering women and eliminating racism, the organization has spanned hardships – from wars to depression to economic struggles – and celebrations – the suffragist movement, women's right to vote, and the first black president.
Starting as a social club and support for young women residing in Utica, the YWCA Mohawk Valley has grown into an organization that provides vital programs and services to women, their families, and communities throughout two counties. The YWCA Mohawk Valley provides services to thousands of individuals each year in Oneida and Herkimer Counties.
Those services include the YWCA Sexual Violence Services and Child Advocacy Center of Herkimer County, New Horizons residential facility for homeless and runaway girls, domestic violence emergency shelters (Hall House in Utica and Lucy's House in Rome), Willow Commons transitional housing program for homeless victims of domestic violence, and violence and bullying prevention education and outreach conducted at local schools, colleges, and businesses.
Our programs provide education, skill building, youth advocacy, crisis counseling, housing, and extensive supportive services. The collective impact of these programs on the individuals they serve includes increased personal safety, increased knowledge, enhanced life skills, decreased drug and alcohol use, decreased unplanned pregnancies, decreased high school drop out rates, decreased violence, and decreased crime.