Our History: 1916--2009

1916
Located at 807 Main Street, the YWCA operated a lunch counter for young women employed in the city.

1920
The YWCA moved to 513 1/2 Main Street and organized a branch of the League of Women Voters.

1927
The Association received its Charter from National Association.

1945
The YWCA relocated to 17th and Main Street, focused on the needs of working women and the wives of servicemen. Special emphasis was placed on the YWCA's spiritual values.

1946
The YWCA offered people of color a place to gather for social and recreational purposes. It also offered a variety of classes and programs to women such as first aid, home nursing, babysitting, sewing, bridge, swimming, and volleyball.

1947
Relocated to 1310 Main Street. Y Teens established. The Public Affairs Committee, in cooperation with the NAACP and the Council of Churches, planned a dinner discussion on the United Nations and important efforts toward world peace.

1948
Mary A. Powell bequeathed the bulk of her estate to the YWCA and three other groups. Today, people who wish to donate part of their estate to the YWCA are honored as members of the Mary Powell Society.

1954
The YWCA relocated to 104 East 12th Street, the old Eberle home.

1960
The YWCA relocates to the Hidden House.

1960
The National YWCA takes an official stand against racial segregation.

1964
Y's Buys shop opened at 700 Main Street.

1966
Emphasis on youth and young married women, including a group for mothers ages 16-21. Classes on mechanics and golf were also popular.

1967
The YWCA offers a very popular sex education series for teenage girls.

1968
The YWCA launches program for interracial and interreligious understanding.

1974
The Esther Short Park Lunch Bunch used their own funds to rent an apartment for battered women and children leaving their abusers.

1975
A house at 1210 West 12th Street is leased to provide emergency housing for battered women and children.

1976
Administrative and program offices relocated to 1115 Esther Street. The YWCA had expanded rapidly over the past 15 years and had outgrown its previous location, 917 Z Street.

1978
SafeChoice is relocated to an old house owned by Vancouver Housing Authority. The YWCA provides evening coverage for DSHS hotline.

1980
The Women's Resource Center closes and the Sexual Assault Program is moved to the YWCA.

1982
The Court Appointed Special Advocate Program (then called Guardian Ad Litem) began advocating for abused and neglected children.

1984
The Legal Advocacy Program was established to provide support for victims of domestic violence in the criminal justice system.

1988
The Children's Advocacy Program (CAP) was created to provide special services for children of battered women. Y's Care Children's Program, a preschool program for homeless children, was established at St. Paul's Lutheran Church.

1990
The Independent Living Skills Program was established for youth in foster care.

1992
The SafeChoice Domestic Violence shelter was completed.

1994
The YWCA was selected United Way of the Columbia-Willamette Agency of the Year.

1997
The YWCA relocated to its newly renovated facility at 3609 Main Street. Now all the YWCA programs (with the exception of the SafeChoice Domestic Violence Program) were under one roof.

1998
YWCA Clark County was selected United Way Agency of the Year.

2001
The new building was paid off by a generous donation from the Helene Schoen Estate.

2006
The YWCA holds the first Eliminating Racism workshop, thanks to a generous grant from Hewlett-Packard Vancouver. YWCA Board Member and lawyer Kelly Walsh founds the twice-monthly SafeChoice legal clinic, providing legal assistance to victims of domestic violence.

2007
Longtime YWCA donor Ray Hickey generously donates $1 million to create the Ray Hickey Endowment for Children, which will provide a stable income for the Y’s Care Children’s Program.
Thanks to a grant from United Way of the Columbia-Willamette, SafeChoice begins offering services specifically for lesbian, bisexual, transgender, gay and questioning victims of domestic violence.

2008
The YWCA launched the Social Change Program to bolster its efforts to eliminate racism and oppression and prevent violence.