YCC Battered Women Shelter Expansion a Lovely Success

Kids at the YCC share a message

I had the pleasure of visiting Your Community Connection's newly expanded battered women's shelter the other day, and what a huge improvement.

The shelter, as originally built, could only handle 30 residents, and no men.

Yes, there are battered men.

Julee Smith

The problem was growing acute, to the point the YCC, in Ogden, had to turn clients away. When you have someone fearing for their safety, finally able to get away, coming to you for help and refuge, the last thing you want to do is say "no."

And, no, they didn't. They used local hotels. It wasn't secure, it wasn't cheap, but they did what they had to do.

A couple years ago Julee Smith, the executive director, started a capital campaign. I was still working at the paper at the time and had the opportunity to write a few columns about the issue. Even sparked a few nice donations, including one of $30,000.

Which was great, but $30,000 doesn't buy you new bedrooms, or even many new beds.

Karen Thurber, a dear friend who retired from the Ogden Weber ATC a couple years ago, has real

Karen Thurber

skills as a fund raiser. She took the capital campaign on as a personal project, wringing money out of every foundation, donor and passer-bye she could grab hold of.  And $1.7 million later, they've got it.

The new extension was built over what used to be a garden in front of the YCC on Jefferson Avenue and 23rd Street. This gave them more room on the first floor for added programs, and the entire second floor for the expansion of the battered women's shelter.  Security was beefed up, facilities were improved, all a lot better.

I took a picture of some of the kids in the Head Start and Day Care programs holding a big "thank you" sign. Karen is sending copies of it to donors, which is nice.

Julee Smith models the new common room

Mostly, this shows what this community is capable of when the need is clear and deserving. They're still $17,000 short of the final goal, but that almost sounds like pocket change after what they're raised.

Mostly, it's just nice that they won't have to turn battered women away. Or even men.

As I left, I noticed a string of T-shirts with writing on them hung along the small walkway to the front door. The morning sun made the white of the shirts glow so the writing stood out.

Julee said the shirts are drawn by clients the shelter -- "survivors" she said. "We don't call them victims, we call them survivors."

They messages were of defiance and survival by the people that the YCC is helping live through horrible experiences, now with a new larger, better, more secure place to do it.