YWCA Face Lift Will Mean Help for More Women

Mercedes had $3 in her pocket when she stepped off a bus in downtown San Diego in July. She had no place to sleep and no friends to call.

She had traveled across the country from Florida, where she had lived for a while after leaving her hometown of Manhattan, where she had divorced her husband and raised two children.

“After a while, I didn’t have anyone left to raise,” said the 56-year-old. She wanted to “just try going to another city.”

Unable to get a foothold in Florida, Mercedes traveled from shelter to shelter in Tampa and Orlando. She finally landed a job as a data entry clerk in Jacksonville but was laid off. With her resources waning and her asthma acting up, Mercedes chose San Diego out of the pages of an atlas.

Four months after arriving in San Diego with little education and less money, Mercedes has a home, job prospects and is looking forward to enrolling in college. She declined to give her last name, fearing the stigma of homelessness might influence potential employers.

She credits her success to the YWCA’s Women in Transitionprogram. The program, housed on the fifth floor of the YWCA building at 10th and C streets, provides housing and support services for motivated but poor women like Mercedes.

The San Diego City Council in November unanimously approved $525,000 in redevelopment funds to renovate the fifth floor of the YWCA building. The 3-year-old program, which now houses 18 women, will accommodate 43 after the renovation, including a few with small children. Repairs are to begin in April.

Intricate grill work and mission-style architecture characterize the YWCA building, which was built in 1925 and is listed in the Local Historic Site Register of Significant Buildings. Situated two blocks from San Diego City College, the five-story building is flanked by trolley lines and fast food restaurants.

The women who cross the threshold of the YWCA building range in age from 18 to the late 50s and come from a variety of backgrounds with various skill levels, YWCA Executive Director Janie Davis said.

“Their stories are about as different as you can imagine,” Davis said. “They have come from all walks of life. This may be their last hope in turning their lives around.”

Some of the women have college degrees, some have had families and husbands, and some have come from other San Diego shelters. Many have been victims of physical or sexual abuse from parents or spouses, and a history of drug or alcohol addiction is common.

The one characteristic that all the women in the program possess is motivation to change their lives.

“Somewhere along the way, they have received the motivation to try to change what has affected their lives negatively,” Davis said.

This motivation is the key that gets them in the door to the program. Applicants must be “clean and sober,” willing to enter the job market and, in some cases, attend school.

The women live in a dormitory setting for a maximum of 12 months or until they have met their goals. The program provides career development counseling, legal advocacy and financial counseling and medical assistance. Referrals are made through San Diego shelters, and there are three women waiting for each opening.

With the expansion, the program for the first time will have room for some women with small children.

Under the guidance of WIT counselors, Mercedes has set up a monthly budget, a savings account and has been taking typing classes at the Center City Skill Center and learning computer programs. Twenty percent of her income from jobs she has worked through a temporary agency pays her rent at the YWCA.

Mercedes has held several part-time jobs through the agency, but her goal is to find a full-time job in the secretarial field. Once she finds a permanent position, she can start planning for her ultimate goal.

“I want to get a college degree more than anything,” said Mercedes, who took some general education courses at a community college in New York. A self-styled student of the arts, Mercedes said she has read Shakespeare and has a passion for classical music.

After a year in the program, or once she has met her educational or career goals, a resident “graduates” from the transition program and moves out of the YWCA, WIT Director Carol Ludowise said.

“They’ve gotten to a place where they realize, ‘Now it’s my turn. I don’t need anybody else,’ ” Ludowise said.