 | |
| Established | 1894 |
|---|---|
| Location | |
Staff | Sharon Shelton, Interim CEO |
| Website | www.YWCAGLA.org |
YWCA Greater Los Angeles is a charitable organization with a focus on addressing issues of poverty, homelessness, domestic violence and skills training for the community.
The Los Angeles YWCA has operated for more than one hundred years with programs in community advocacy, Child development services, Sexual Assault Crisis Counseling program", [1] the Empowerment Project for Senior Citizens, Youth Education and recreation training as well as the L.A. Job Corps program. [2] [3]
Founded in 1894, [4] the YWCA Greater Los Angeles serving the needs of women and their families in the Los Angeles community is modeled after the national Young Women's Christian Association which is a membership movement dedicated to the concept of empowering women by creating opportunities for growth, leadership and eliminating racism.
In 1913 the Mary Andrews Clark Memorial Home began serving as an Institution of "Comfort and Uplifting", [5] which served as an affordable residence for working girls until 1987. In 1918 the YWCA took control of The Hollywood Studio Club a hotel residence for aspiring actresses.
In 1953 the Compton development Center was established [6] with programs designed for teens. In the late 1950s, the YWCA Greater Los Angeles began operation of a transient hotel for women and in 1965 the first Los Angeles Job Corps Center opened. By the late 1960s the YWCA established both the East Los Angeles and the Angeles Mesa Activity Centers.
By the late 1970s, the Infant Learning Center at San Fernando High School was opened in 1975 as the L.A. Job Corps program continued to grow and expand when it moved into the Hollywood Studio Club. [7] In the early 1980s, the YWCA began child development and lLtchkey Services [8] in thirteen area elementary schools within the Los Angeles Unified School District. In 1985 the Compton Center began counseling programs for women who were survivors of sexual assault which continued until the building was sold in 1993.
The YWCA became the lead agency for the "LA Bridges After School Program" at L.A.'s John Muir Middle School in 1998. The YWCA Greater Los Angeles was granted an extended five-year contract in 2000 for the operation of the LA Job Corps [9] program from the Department of Labor.
In 2001, the organization created an Urban Campus Project focused on housing, health and medical services, charter high school, and vocational services. They also founded the Society of Benefactrix, which was launched in support of the YWCA's philosophical ideals and programs. In 2003, the Union Pacific Child Development Center in East Los Angeles was opened. [10]
In 2009, the first "Jeans 4 Justice" event was held. [11] On April 1, 2012, the YWCA Greater Los Angeles moved into their Urban Campus Building at 1020 Olive Street, Los Angeles along with the LA Job Corps [12]
The YWCA Greater Los Angeles each year presents its award for Phenomenal Woman. The 2011 honoree was actress/model Kathy Ireland and local politician Jan Perry. The 2012 award went to SEIU - Butler United Long Term Care Workers' Union President, Laphonza Butler. [13] [14]
Compton is a city located in the Gateway Cities region of southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county, and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city in Los Angeles County to incorporate. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 95,740. It is known as the "Hub City" due to its geographic centrality in Los Angeles County. Neighborhoods in Compton include Sunny Cove, Leland, downtown Compton, and Richland Farms.
The Los Angeles River, historically known as Paayme Paxaayt'West River' by the Tongva and the Río Porciúncula'Porciúncula River' by the Spanish, is a major river in Los Angeles County, California. Its headwaters are in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, and it flows nearly 51 miles (82 km) from Canoga Park through the San Fernando Valley, Downtown Los Angeles, and the Gateway Cities to its mouth in Long Beach, where it flows into San Pedro Bay. While the river was once free-flowing and frequently flooding, forming alluvial flood plains along its banks, it is currently notable for flowing through a concrete channel on a fixed course, which was built after a series of devastating floods in the early 20th century.
Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) is the central business district of Los Angeles. It is part of the Central Los Angeles region and covers a 5.84 sq mi (15.1 km2) area. As of 2020, it contains over 500,000 jobs and has a population of roughly 85,000 residents, with an estimated daytime population of over 200,000 people prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite a business exodus from downtown Los Angeles since the COVID-19 pandemic, the district is evolving as a cultural center.
Watts is a neighborhood in southern Los Angeles, California. It is located within the South Los Angeles region, bordering the cities of Lynwood, Huntington Park and South Gate to the east and southeast, respectively, and the unincorporated community of Willowbrook to the south.
California State University, Los Angeles is a public university in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the California State University system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degree programs, 122 master's degree programs, and 4 doctoral degrees: the Doctor of Philosophy in special education, Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership, Doctor of Nursing Practice, and Doctor of Audiology. It also offers 22 teaching credentials.
The Los Angeles Westside is an urban region in western Los Angeles County, California, United States. It has no official definition, but sources like LA Weekly and the Mapping L.A. survey of the Los Angeles Times place the region on the western side of the Los Angeles Basin south of the Santa Monica Mountains.
The California Conservation Corps, or the CCC, is a department of the government of California, falling under the state cabinet-level California Resources Agency. The CCC is a voluntary work development program specifically for men and women between the ages of 18 and 25, offering work in environmental conservation, fire protection, land maintenance, and emergency response to natural disasters. Members of the CCC are referred to as "Corpsmembers", and are paid a monthly stipend; starting July 2022, the amount was $2,600.
Sawtelle is a neighborhood in West Los Angeles, on the Westside of Los Angeles, California. The short-lived City of Sawtelle grew around the Pacific Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, later the Sawtelle Veterans Home, and was incorporated as a city in 1899. Developed by the Pacific Land Company, and named for its manager W. E. Sawtelle, the City of Sawtelle was independent for fewer than 30 years before it was annexed by the City of Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Trade–Technical College is a public community college in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the Los Angeles Community College District and is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), American Culinary Federation, and League of Nursing, among others.
The Los Angeles Public Library system (LAPL) is a public library system in Los Angeles, California. The system holds more than six million volumes, and with around 19 million residents in the Greater Los Angeles area, it serves the largest metropolitan population of any public library system in the United States. The system is overseen by a Board of Library Commissioners with five members appointed by the mayor of Los Angeles in staggered terms, and operates 72 library branches throughout the city. In 1997 a local historian described it as "one of the biggest and best-regarded library systems in the nation." It is not to be confused with the LA County Library system which operates several library branches across certain areas of Los Angeles County.
Edward R. Roybal Learning Center, is a secondary school located in the Westlake area of Los Angeles, California. Built to alleviate overcrowding at the nearby Belmont High School, the school's construction was met with controversy surrounding its cost and the discoveries of harmful gases and an earthquake fault, leading to a temporary suspension in 1999 that wasn't lifted until 2003. While development began in 1988, the school did not open until 20 years later on September 3, 2008.
The Arts District is a neighborhood on the eastern edge of Downtown Los Angeles, California in the United States. The city community planning boundaries are Alameda Street on the west which blends into Little Tokyo, First Street on the north, the Los Angeles River to the east, and Violet Street on the south. Largely composed of industrial buildings dating from the early 20th century, the area has recently been revitalized, and its street scene slowly developed in the early 21st century. New art galleries have increased recognition of the area amidst the downtown, which is known for its art museums.
Self-Help Graphics & Art, Inc. is a community arts center in East Los Angeles, California, United States. The building is a mix Beaux-Arts and vernacular architecture built in 1927, and was designed by Postle & Postle. Formed during the cultural renaissance that accompanied the Chicano Movement, or Self Help, as it is sometimes called, was one of the primary centers that incubated the nascent Chicano art movement, and remains important in the Chicano art movement, as well as in the greater Los Angeles community, today. SHG also hosts musical and other performances, and organizes Los Angeles's annual Day of the Dead festivities. Throughout its history, the organization has worked with well-known artists in the Los Angeles area such as Los Four and the East Los Streetscapers, but it has focused primarily on training and giving exposure to young and new artists, many of whom have gone on to national and international prominence.
The media of Los Angeles are influential and include some of the most important production facilities in the world. As part of the "Creative Capital of the World", it is a major global center for media and entertainment. In addition to being the home of Hollywood, the center of the American motion picture industry, the Los Angeles area is the second largest media market in North America. Many of the nation's media conglomerates either have their primary headquarters or their West Coast operations based in the region. Universal Music Group, one of the "Big Four" record labels, is also based in the Los Angeles area.
Harbor–UCLA Medical Center is a 570-bed public teaching hospital located at 1000 West Carson Street in West Carson, an unincorporated area within Los Angeles County, California. The hospital is owned by Los Angeles County and operated by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, while doctors are faculty of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, who oversee the medical residents being trained at the facility.
Children's Institute Inc. (CII) is a nonprofit organization that provides services to children and families healing from the effects of family and community violence within Los Angeles. Founded in 1906 by Minnie Barton, Los Angeles's first female probation officer, the organization was first designed to help troubled young women who found themselves adrift in Los Angeles. The organization has since expanded its services to at-risk youth in Los Angeles who are affected by child abuse, neglect domestic and gang violence as well as poverty. CII is a multi-service organization that combines evidence-based clinical services, youth development programs and family support services designed to address the whole child and entire family. The organization provides various forms of trauma support—including therapy, intervention services, parenting workshops, early childcare programs and other support services offered in English, Spanish and Korean.
The Oregon Civic Justice Center is a three-story former library building on the campus of Willamette University in downtown Salem, Oregon, United States. Built in 1912 as a Carnegie library for the city of Salem, the building now houses several programs of Willamette University College of Law. Prior to the law school's moving into the facility in 2008, the building was used by the adjacent Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) from 1971 to 2006.
LA Cleantech Incubator (LACI) is the City of Los Angeles's official cleantech business incubator established to accelerate the commercialization of clean technology and job creation in the Los Angeles region. LACI's staff of entrepreneurs, market specialists, and researchers combined with its 60+ mentor/advisor network provide expert advice on a full range of issues facing early to growth stage companies, including CEO coaching, financial modeling, business development, IP, and more. The organization is run "by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs" and pursues public objectives by harnessing private methods and resources. In 2014, LACI was ranked by UBI Global as the Number 6 university-affiliated business incubator in the world out of 800+ incubators in 67 countries.
Gloria Molina Grand Park, commonly known as Grand Park, is a 12-acre (4.9 ha) park located in the civic center of Los Angeles, California. First developed in 1966 as the 'Civic Center Mall' with plazas, fountains and a Court of Flags, it is now a part of the larger redevelopment known as the Grand Avenue Project, with its first phase having opened in July 2012. Grand Park is part of a joint venture by the city of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County. It was designed and built by the Los-Angeles–based multidisciplinary design firm Rios Clementi Hale Studios. Park programming and entertainment, security and upkeep are maintained by the nearby Los Angeles Music Center.
Ann Shaw was an American social worker and civic leader based in Los Angeles for five decades. Shaw was a leader of the YWCA of the Greater Los Angeles for two terms and the first African American to head the organization and the first woman and first African American to serve on the California Commission on Judicial Performance.
