In the 1970s, four women dubbed the Esther Short Lunch Bunch came up with a revolutionary idea. Over lunch in the park, they decided to pool their money together and rent an apartment for women escaping violent relationships.
It was the start of the YWCA of Clark County’s domestic violence shelter, which remains the only such shelter in the county today.
Women’s advocates were back at downtown Vancouver’s Esther Short Park on Sunday afternoon to celebrate that day and many other milestones for the local YWCA.
“If you haven’t heard, we’re turning 100 this year,” Sherri Bennett, YWCA Clark County’s executive director, announced to cheers and applause.
The organization started locally in 1916 by creating a lunch counter for working women. It was a time when some women employees didn’t feel safe on their lunch breaks, or were expected to be accompanied at lunch by a man.
The organization got its official charter from the national YWCA in 1927, and in 1946 it also became “a gathering place for people of color,” according to the organization’s timeline.
In the 1960s, the local YWCA officially opposed racial segregation and provided sex education for hundreds of young women. In the 1970s, the organization started one of the first programs for domestic violence victims in the country, according to the YWCA.
Today the organization has a much broader mission, helping survivors of domestic violence or sexual assault, the homeless and at-risk children, and reaching about 12,000 people annually. YWCA Clark County runs the CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) program for abused or neglected children; the Independent Living Skills program to help foster children transition into adulthood; and the Y Cares preschool program for at-risk children. Another part of its mission is to eliminate racism.
The YWCA also has served as an incubator for fledgling community organizations. Second Step Housing, which helps families in need find transitional homes, got its start there, first as a housing program at the YWCA run by Julie DeSmith. DeSmith was there on Sunday and said she always felt accepted at the YWCA.
“You didn’t have to be somebody you weren’t,” she said, adding that she felt listened to. While she was there, it was “a women’s organization, run by women, managed by women — strong women — about women’s issues.”
The 100th birthday celebration was attended by more than 50 people and included activities such as face painting and hula hooping. The organization presented its first lifetime achievement award to former executive director Joyce Kilpatrick. She started working with the group in the 1980s.
Accepting the award, Kilpatrick shared a few stories. She recalled receiving a donation once from a company for a new swimming pool. People often confused the YWCA with the YMCA, she said.
She sent the check back, telling the donor: “We don’t have a pool, but we make waves.”
Bennett said she was looking forward to the next 100 years.
“There’s still much more that we need to do and want to be doing,” she said.
