Domestic Abuse Services
More than 400 women and children find a safe haven at the YWCA’s emergency shelter — YWCA Wege Sojourner House — each year. Our top priority is keeping these victims of domestic abuse safe and in an environment that promotes healing and understanding.

YWCA Wege Sojourner House – Child Care
(Requesting one year commitment. Must be 18 or older. Background check and 30 hour new service provide training required.)
Access to reliable, safe, trauma-informed child care is critical to domestic abuse victims’ ability to establish safety and  independence for themselves and their families. The first steps toward independence are often taken at the YWCA’s emergency shelter. Child care is available to those residing at Sojourner House so that a parent can interview for a job, attend court hearings, look for housing, and more.

YWCA Wege Sojourner House – Dinner Preparation
Mealtime at Sojourner House provides an opportunity to create a sense of belonging. For families, it also offers the chance to deepen parent-child bonds which may have been strained because of the violence they experienced. To nurture these opportunities, individuals and groups prepare and provide a dinner meal for approximately 30 adults and children who have found shelter at Sojourner House. This can be one-time, monthly, weekly, or more.

YWCA Wege Sojourner House – Enhancing a Healing Environment
Creating a welcoming, trauma-informed environment is key to a victim’s healing. Opportunities include, but aren’t limited to yard work and seasonal gardening, organizing donations, and special maintenance projects.

Volunteer Advocates
(One year commitment. Background check and training required.)
Volunteer Advocates play an essential role in providing support to victims of sexual assault and intimate partner violence on an on-call basis. Volunteers are on-call for 2-3 12-hour shifts per month. Advocates must be good listeners, committed to and invested in providing empathy and support to the people we serve. Reliable personal transportation is required. Training is provided online with expected completion within 2 weeks. Volunteers self-schedule their own shifts and will shadow an experienced advocate during an exam prior to providing advocacy independently.

Contact Julia Hawkins, Director of Crisis Intervention Services, with interest: jhawkins@ywcawcmi.org

Hospitality and Resources
The YWCA views each interaction a survivor has with us as part of their healing journey. Volunteers answer, screen and direct calls; greet and direct visitors; keep the reception areas tidy and orderly; and help with additional similar activities.

Healing Garden Caretakers
(6 month commitment requested. Individuals and/or groups welcome.)
The exterior of the YWCA should reflect the same sense of well-being and healing a survivor experiences when inside our building. Caretakers maintain the garden during active growing seasons with tasks like regular weeding. Caretakers also help with spring clean-up, preparation for fall and winter, and providing seasonal planters.

Different Ideas?
If you have experience, skills, and training that can benefit those served by the YWCA, but don’t see them in the opportunities here, go ahead and fill out the application and tell us.

Application