Young Womens Christian Association

Spirit valley young mothers program housed and served about 45 young mothers ages 16-21 and their children each year. Advocates facilitated economic self-sufficiency by working with moms to access education, employment, medical care, and childcare assistance. Additional services included case management, parenting classes, money management, self-esteem building, life skills, and homework assistance. Participants were all living in poverty and experiencing homelessness prior to entering the program. Between january 1, 2024-november 30, 2024, 9 mothers moved into permanent housing and we worked with 15 individuals through community outreach. 89% of residents worked on earning their ged or diploma, were looking for work or working, with one taking a break due to being at the end of her pregnancy. 78% of moms participated in developing new community connections by attending local events and classes.

The gender equity project was a partnership with the minnesota women's foundation to create a duluth cabinet modeled after their statewide cabinet. This cabinet was a leadership and action cohort of diverse female-identifying, non-binary, and gender expansive program participants ages 16-24. The cohort focused on learning and doing with all aspects decided by the young people themselves. In 2023 - 2024, eight young women participated. Of those, 25% were biracial, 12.5% were native american, and 12.5% were black. The program was paused in june 2024 due to the resignation of the program director and permanently ended by the women's foundation of minnesota who determined they no longer wanted to fund these programs statewide.