Take Action Project- Volunteering at the YWCA

            For our final project I have chosen to volunteer at the YWCA, a process that has proven quite extensive so far. First, I needed to schedule an interview to meet with the volunteer coordinator, Adrianne Nance. At the interview, she discussed many different aspects of the YWCA including the many services they offer to abused women. One service they offer that I was not aware of was a safe house, a secret location where women can stay for up to a month with their children if they are leaving an abusive situation. While at this safe house, women receive help with finding a job and securing a more permanent place to live. The YWCA also helps these women file for divorce and secure restraining orders. After the interview, I filled out a volunteer application and had to get a background check from DHS. I wasn’t expecting the process to be so involved, but it made sense that the YWCA would need to make sure that their volunteers and workers had no history of domestic violence crimes and were also not associated with any of the abusers that women were seeking shelter from. I was supposed to start my volunteer hours today, but unfortunately I have the flu and had to reschedule. I look forward to volunteering at the YWCA and talking with Adrianne about what lead her to become a part of such an amazing program.