By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
The YWCA has made upgrades to its facilities, updating the bathrooms for the people that live inside the emergency shelter.
Originally, the facility had community style bathrooms. CEO Danielle Brown says one of the first projects that came across her desk when she joined the YWCA, was updating the facilities
“We now have eight individual bathrooms, so we have a place where each person who lives in our shelter, so mother, woman, child, can go and have their own space,” Brown tells reporters. “And you know a lot of us we cry, we laugh, we dance, we have so many emotions in a bathroom just because it is a private place, and now everybody that we serve who is surviving domestic violence and sexual assault has that private place as well.”
Brown says having that personal space can help give someone going through trauma a more positive perception
“So, it’s not just about the external factors of somebody telling me I’m great, but it’s also your surroundings, and if I’m surrounded by good things and I know then that I deserve them because they continue to come to me, then it’s just another step on that healing process,” Brown explains.
Brown says the upgrade has helped provide individual space for each person that comes into the shelter but has also helped staff understand where they are trying to go with taking care of survivors.
Brown says having that space gives individuals a space for privacy and dignity to have a little bit of individualism
“To be able to take care of personal care needs every single day,” Brown says. “The other thing that it’s done is it’s really helped staff understand where we’re trying to go, and where we’re going, where we’ve been with taking care of survivors, and making sure that we know that we have to meet them where they’re at and we just have to continue to add to their lives, and this project was one that we’re able to say hey you matter, we’re going to invest in you.”
Brown says it also shows the community that they are investing in the shelter and helping survivors now and into the future.
Next, the YWCA will work to upgrade its office facilities for its staff that work overnight at the shelter.
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