Regular Meeting January 25, 2022

President Elect Kathi Fuhrman opened the meeting at 12:25 pm and Mary Kay Bernosky led the Pledge and Prayer.

 

ATTENDANCE: 32 members attended the meeting which represents 40% of our membership

          Guests included our two speakers from the YWCA; 6 students of the month; Rob Connolly, guest of Bert Elsner

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

          Ralph Jodice - Junior Achievement STEM program at Hanover Schools was cancelled due to COVID concerns.  Other JA activities will continue.
                                - Ralph and his wife Judy let us know that there are 2 places in York to donate very good clothing - Just For Tomorrow and Closet To Careers.  Ralph will

                                  send out ore specific information to members via email.

 

PROGRAM: Janise Bankard and Lauren Souders - Hanover YWCA -eliminating Racism, Empowering Women

           The YWCA promotes Peace, Justice, Freedom, and Dignity for All

          Janise and Lauren spoke about Programs offered to the community by the YWCA.  They now have two locations - Hanover and Gettysburg - and serve all residents of York and Adams Counties.  One of the new Programs they have started is a sensory room for kids who need a quiet, safe place to relax, and calm down.  Lauren shared information about the following services:  Power Breakfasts, Mom's Mixers, and Walk A Mile In Our Shoes.  They operate an advocacy Hotline 24/7 and have 10 people on call to respond.

The YWCA provides legal advocacy to help with protection from abuse orders, and the court process involved.  They also help with medical advocacy liasion with Doctors and hospitals if needed.  They do crisis counseling and make referrals to various community agencies; referrals to local shelters in out even out of county if necessary to keep the client safe.  They also develop safety plans with clients and children and even help find a temporary shelter for family pets if required.  Housing, both temporary like a few months and transitional, like up to a year can be an issue and the YWCA assists with that.  Sometimes transportation is needed so clients can get to legal services or medical services or even to get back to the client's original home area, and the YWCA will arrange for that too. 

The YWCA will do Community education and prevention programs if asked so people know what they do, who they help, and what services are available.  They also operate a food pantry that clients in need can access.

 

Our community is fortunate to have the YWCA providing these services for people in the area to access when their lives are disrupted by tragic events like abuse.