Chief executive officer at the YWCA of the Mohawk Valley is all about eliminating racism, empowering women
By David Podos
Q: What is the mission of the YWCA of the Mohawk Valley?
A: Our mission is to eliminate racism and empower women.
Q: How does your agency accomplish this?
A: Well, first off, we advocate for women, their issues and rights. For example, we can advocate for them in a crisis situation or abusive relationships, we help them with affordable safe childcare and affordable safe housing to name just a few. And when we are doing those things that is oftentimes where racism exits and we will root it out to the best of our ability.
Q: Can you give an example where you and your staff have encountered racism against a client of yours.
A: Sure. An example would be what we call quiet biases. So, what we do in that situation, we educate people as we go along. Let me use equal and fair housing for everyone. So, if you find a landlord that for instance does not want to rent to a person of color that we would like to place at their property, you have conversations with them. Many people we encounter are not even aware of their own biases. So, we educate them that we have this client who has chosen to live in this particular community. We have great relationships with a lot of landlords that work very closely with us. However, every now and then we do come across a landlord that displays biases. We then have a conversation with him or her saying that this person is a qualified tenant, they qualify for all our parameters, we are going to pay their rent up to the first 12 months and we will be working with them. So, we educate them on what we do with that client to make sure everything runs smoothly.
Q: Did you ever have to go to the next step and enter into a legal situation?
A: We have not. We do however work with third party legal intervention to solve issues and that has been successful.
Q: Your services cover both Oneida and Herkimer counties; but I would like to focus on Herkimer County. The county has and is going through a lot. Poverty rates are high and the recent closing of Remington Arms in Ilion has added to the economic woes that people are dealing with. Has your agency seen an uptick in social problems and difficulties in that community?
A: Desperate people sometimes do desperate things. The area is a potential pressure cooker. So, you have someone who has been able to provide for their family and there have never really been any signs of any abuse. Then, you lose your job, you begin to drink or drink more, perhaps you use drugs, maybe you don’t do any of that but, you are angry at the world because this career you had that you thought would sustain you and your family and provide for a good life and pension is now no longer there.
Q: Are you seeing more family abuse issues?
A: Unfortunately, yes. But fortunately, we do have an office in Ilion called the YWCA Herkimer Advocacy Center. So, what we do there is we work with children who have either been severely abused and or sexually assaulted, as well as a rape crisis center. We work with the local court system, the local D.A. office and police departments and these services we provide cover the entire Herkimer County. People living in the valley know about us for the most part, towns like Ilion, Mohawk, Little Falls for example. But what we find very difficult, is reaching out to the rural areas, including up north to the Old Forge area. In many respects many of these residents are isolated from what we do, and it is not because there are no issues going on in these families, they simply are not calling us.
Q: If someone is in trouble and needs assistance, why are they not calling the agency for help?
A: The rural communities tend to be a very close-knit community. For example, your husband’s brother is the judge or a police officer, everybody really knows everybody. This oftentimes makes it difficult for a woman to come forward and seek help and or file a complaint. So, what we are trying to do in 2025, [to have in our budget], the hiring of a full-time advocate that just focuses on those rural communities. We already have a rural advocate for Oneida County, so this would be specifically for Herkimer County. With this advocate we can help any victim of abuse through the court process, any kind of medical proceedings, anything that is necessary we will do.
Q: Where does your funding come from?
A: One of our main sources comes through the Office of Victim Services, a federal program but works collaboratively with the state. We also receive money from multiple state and federal grantors, some county money, corporations, foundations and individual donors.
Q: How many staff do currently employ?
A: We employ 50 staff.
Q: What number can someone call if they are in need of your services and what is your website?
A: 315-797-7740. ywcamv.org