About YWCA South Hampton Roads
Since 1908, YWCA South Hampton Roads has strengthened social movements to improve the lives of women, girls, and communities of color.
YWCA is the oldest and largest multicultural women’s organization in the world. As a leading association among a national network of more than 195 YWCAs, YWCA South Hampton Roads (YWCA South Hampton Roads) is dedicated to the fullness of its mission to eliminate racism, empower women and promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.
YWCA South Hampton Roads impacts thousands of women and families annually through comprehensive human services provided across the region: Chesapeake, Franklin, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and Southampton County.
We are a community catalyst for meaningful change and the advocate for shaping vital impact through quality services responding to the critical needs of survivors of sexual violence and domestic violence.
YWCA South Hampton Roads works across racial, gender, religious, and social lines with organizations and partners in all sectors to educate about disparities, advocate for change, and provide resources and tools to dismantle oppressive systems.
We have transformed from a well-established direct service provider for women and families facing crisis to an organization working at the intersection of eliminating racism, empowering women and standing up for social justice, helping families, and strengthening our community.
Our Mission
YWCA is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all.
Our Vision
YWCA South Hampton Roads is a source of strength, courage, and empowerment for women and families facing crisis.
Our programs provide quality services responding to the critical needs of survivors of sexual violence and domestic violence, including the need for quality and affordable childcare and the opportunity to work collaboratively to eliminate racism in the community.
Our Values
Compassion. Honesty. Integrity. Ownership. Responsibility. Empowerment.
Founded by a Black woman, our commitment to women of color has always been ingrained into our mission and legacy.
YWCA was an independent movement that arose out of women's church groups as a way of making life better for other women. These first YWCA's provided boarding houses, skills training, recreation, and a social environment for single, working women. After World War II, the YWCA's emphasis shifted to the family: mother and children.
YWCA of South Hampton Roads started as housing for working girls in 1893. On October 15, 1906, Laura Etta Davis Titus, a Black female philanthropist, filed the charter to create what is now YWCA South Hampton Roads. The charter was approved in 1908; though Titus is not given credit in the historical record. In 1908, the Phyllis Wheatley Branch of the YWCA of Norfolk, named after one of the first published Black and enslaved poets, began as an association of African American Women.
Another YWCA chapter was founded in Norfolk in 1911 by establishing a residence for single women, including a cafeteria and a reading room. The chapter offered classes in cooking, stenography, bible studies, typing, and gymnastics. In 1925, the two branches joined forces.
Throughout their history, YWCA chapters of Hampton Roads have created many institutions in the community. Camp Owaissa, Camp E.W. Young, and various day camps provided summer recreation for young girls. Norfolk YWCA ran a cafeteria on West Freemason Street for many years. YWCA has hosted women's shelters including the Phyllis Wheatley House, the Wilkshaw, and undisclosed battered women's shelters.
Other YWCA programs have included the Winners Dinners, now known as the Women of Distinction Award, where women of achievement have been recognized, Y-Prep and Y-Teens for young and adolescent girls, Black History Month, the Women in Crisis Program for victims of domestic violence, the Women in Transition Program to help economically disadvantaged women find employment or gain job skills, and Ladies Day Out workshops and fashion shows.
In addition to these, YWCA South Hampton Roads continues to hold a wide variety of programs for women of all ages and backgrounds - offering classes, workshops, and training; fashion and talent shows; retreats; conventions; political events, achievement and award dinners, and a variety of youth programs.
History
Our Impact
Serving approximately 8,000 individuals each year, YWCA South Hampton Roads is a source of strength, courage, and empowerment for women and families facing crisis.