Last year, YWCA clients could only imagine safe, apartment-style living to bridge the gap between the YWCA emergency shelter and living on their own.
Now the YWCA has two transitional housing facilities open in the Northern Panhandle, and a third is on its way in 2009.
A Wheeling location opened in February, giving abused women the chance to start fresh in a secure environment. Victims of domestic violence and their children can live in transitional housing for up to two years.
Article Photos
Photo by Casey Hicks
Ohio County transitional housing director and service coordinator Melanie Boyce, left, and Wetzel County transitional housing director Barbie Tanley decorate the Christmas tree in the living room of the YWCA’s Ohio County transitional housing.
"It is free, but they are supposed to be working toward goals," said Melanie Boyce, Ohio County transitional housing director and service coordinator.
Many victims of domestic violence live under the careful watch of their abusers. Debbie Wood, director of the Family Violence Prevention Program, said that some clients come to the YWCA without being able to use a checkbook because their lives have been so controlled. Transitional housing allows victims of violence to focus on developing life skills, securing stable employment or going back to school.
"It's easy access to other programs," Boyce said. "If we can't provide it, we'll refer it out."
The YWCA also has set up a transitional housing facility in Wetzel County. Judy's Place is a Victorian home that has been remodeled to accommodate multiple families. So far, Judy's Place is home to one family: a mother who brought her five children across the country to escape her abusive partner.
Barbie Tanley, Wetzel County transitional housing director, has her office inside Judy's Place. And she's learned just how much support it takes for a victim of domestic violence to create a new life.
"She's working 10 to 12 hours a day, and she wants to go back to school in spring," Tanley said of the home's lone tenant. "When she gets home, she's just exhausted. I've done her laundry, cooked for her - I've even baby-sat. I'm there for anything she needs me to do."
Tanley downplays the amount of work she does in comparison to her client, and she hopes to see more clients move into Judy's Place in the coming months. Helping one woman settle in a new town and gain confidence in her ability to raise her family has made Tanley certain transitional housing can prepare battered women for the challenges of living independently.
"I think once they start doing something, they realize they can do it," Tanley said. "It makes them want to do more."
As soon as next month, Brooke County also will have a transitional housing facility. A supporter has donated a house in Wellsburg to the YWCA, and Wood said the home should open after renovations are made.
The YWCA is currently accepting home decor donations for the facility and any donations for home use items for women moving on from transitional housing or emergency shelters.
The YWCA Family Violence Prevention Program can be reached at 304-232-2748 or 800-698-1247. More information can also be found at the YWCA's Web site www.ywcawheeling.org.