YWCA Spokane

Since 1903 YWCA Spokane has been helping women and children overcome social, economic, and personal barriers in order to accomplish their goals and achieve healthier and more fulfilling lives. Today our areas of focus are intimate partner domestic violence, early childhood education and racial and social justice issues affecting our clients and our community.

The vision that propels our domestic violence work is a Spokane that no longer needs our services—a community in which domestic violence is no longer tolerated.

For the last 40 years, we have steadfastly embraced this vision, establishing the following wrap-around services for survivors: 24-hour Helpline and Safe Shelter, Counseling Center, Mental Health Therapy Services (adult and child), Child Advocacy, Civil Legal Assistance, Legal Advocacy, Economic Empowerment Advocacy, job readiness and free drop-in child care. In 2016, over 8,500 survivors utilized these services to increase the safety and well-being of themselves and their children.

The purpose of our Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) is to support families as they endeavor to transcend intergenerational poverty. ECEAP serves families living at or below 110% of the federal poverty level by providing three- and four-year-old children with the social and learning skills necessary for successful entry into kindergarten and by supporting parents as they progress towards self-sufficiency. Each year more than 100 families are served at YWCA ECEAP sites in Medical Lake, Airway Heights, and downtown Spokane. By working at the intersections of inequality, poverty, and domestic violence we are able to disrupt longstanding societal patterns of trauma.

Our agency also works with local, state and federal partners to be a voice for the families we serve on social justice, systems change and policy that impacts the quality of life for those we serve.