Rebuilding a life

Raymond Vargas grew up in Hell's Kitchen in New York.

Early in life Vargas experienced tragedy when his father -- and then mother -- left him and his four siblings to care for themselves. He dropped out of school and started selling drugs with his two brothers. When his brothers were murdered, Vargas decided a life on the road was safer.

Homeless for more than 30 years, Vargas traveled and worked odd jobs around the country. At one point during his journey, Vargas lived and worked in Charleston, WV. The Capitol City grew on him and he returned to settle down, earn an education and integrate himself back into society.

Through the YWCA Sojourner's Job Readiness Center, Vargas is obtaining job training and computer skills. Vargas is just one recent example of a YWCA success. He shared his success story with Gazette reporter Sandy Wells and it appears in today's Inner Views.

Extreme Makeover for domestic violence victim's family

On Sunday, ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition aired its 100th episode. While this 2-hour special was a milestone for the show, it meant something much deeper for the thousands if not millions of viewers who have witnessed the lives of friends or loved ones devastated by domestic violence.

The featured Minnesota Swenson-Lee family experienced unfathomable tragedy in the fall of 2006 when Vicki Swenson’s sister Teri Lee was brutally murdered by her ex-boyfriend, who broke into her home and fatally shot her while her 11-year-old daughter looked on and her three youngest children hid in nearby rooms. The Swenson family immediately adopted Teri’s four children, whose father had been killed in a car accident in 2001. This soon-to-be family of 10 instantaneously outgrew their 3-bedroom house, which is where the Extreme Makeover team stepped in and built them a beautiful house big enough to accommodate them all.

We truly admire Extreme Makeover’s ability to address the difficult but crucial issue of domestic violence, while bringing hope and inspiration to a grieving family. More importantly, we applaud Vicki Swenson for taking this tragedy and turning it into an opportunity to help protect women and children from becoming victims of domestic violence.

Vicki served as a key player in passing a state bill that requires a picture on all restraining orders – making it easier for victims to alert others what the offender looks like. She knew that her sister Teri did everything she could to protect herself and her family from her abusive ex-boyfriend, including obtaining a restraining order, alerting police, neighbors and teachers of the situation, and even installing a state-of-the-art alarm system.

The biggest tragedy, however, is that on average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in our country every day (Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief). While the YWCA Resolve Family Abuse Program works tirelessly each day to protect families in Kanawha, Clay and Boone counties from the horror of domestic violence, we applaud Extreme Makeover: Home Edition for their generosity and for the hope they inspire of re-building families and changing lives.

Read more about this episode and the Swenson-Lee family here.

WV native's newest movie addresses tolerance

West Virginia native Morgan Spurlock visited the Capitol City as part of FestivALL Tuesday night for the premiere of his newest flick, "Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?" In his 90-minute documentary-comedy-story-film (as described in his own words during the Q&A), Spurlock takes an adventure through the Middle East in search of the world's most wanted man.

Rather than finding Osama, Spurlock discovered that all over the world -- in these war-ravaged countries in the Middle East -- are people just like West Virginians. Mother and fathers who want to know their children can attend school without fear of a bomb shattering their classroom. Teenagers who want the hope of a better life than what they see before them. Grandparents who are dismayed at how their governments and religions are abusing the fundamentals of their beliefs in the name of war.

It's a great movie. We're proud of our native son (although the depiction of West Virginia in the opening scene is disappointing). If you have the opportunity, check out his latest film, which he described as a lesson in tolerance. The DVD version will have bonus interviews that didn't make their way into the edited version, Spurlock promises.

View the trailer for the film here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0963208/trailers-screenplay-vi602013977

Teaching to fish

In Saturday's Charleston Gazette, Alison Knezevich wrote about how charitable giving declines in lean economic times. There is no question that the country is experiencing lean economic times -- and will for some time. Unfortunately, West Virginia seems to suffer more proportionately than other parts of the country when these economic depressions hit.

And while all of us are feeling the pain in our pocketbooks when we pull up to the gas station, there is a segment of the population that suffers exponentially when tough times hit. Fortunately, for this segment there are social service agencies in the Kanawha Valley to help pick up the slack -- food banks, gently used clothing and furniture stores, and others. The YWCA of Charleston provides many services to the most vulnerable populations in our communities: elderly, disabled women who have suffered abuse, domestic violence victims and their children, children who come from families of low-socioeconomic status; and homeless women and families. When times are lean and these women have no one else to turn to, they come to the YWCA of Charleston for help.

The YWCA of Charleston's budget is largely supported by federal, state and local grants. When government priorities shift those funding sources are often threatened -- which in turn threatens the sustainability of the YWCA's critical social service programs. That's why the YWCA of Charleston is working to provide a revenue source -- a program endowment -- for our social service programs. We are currently raising monies to match a $2 million gift from Mr. Lyell B. Clay. This dollar-for-dollar match is being placed into an endowment and when times are lean -- and government spending is cut -- the YWCA of Charleston can fall back on this rainy day fund. This campaign also stems from the YWCA's philosophy of teaching a person to fish rather than feeding him a fish. We teach our clients self-sufficiency. It's all about learning the tools to achieve success. We believe in emulating this philosophy for our clients, which is why when we created our recent intiatives -- the Alicia McCormick Homes and the Shanklin Center -- we also built retail stores (gently used clothing and furniture stores) to offset the costs of those programs.

We're working in perhaps a challenging environment and time to raise these essential funds, but we believe we will succeed in our efforts to ultimately raise $4 million for our critical programs and meet our deadline of Dec. 31, 2009. We believe in our programs, our clients and in our ultimate success because our generous donors do give until it hurts. For all those who have and continue to financially support the YWCA of Charleston -- despite the state of the economy -- thank you.

Fighting racism, since 1863

Redefining stereotypes in West Virginia is a noble goal, and the YWCA of Charleston is proud to join in the effort.

It’s fitting, too—145 years ago, when President Lincoln declared the new state of West Virginia, he did so partly because the people here refused to accept racism as an institution. Somewhere along the way, the world has lost sight of this state’s ground-breaking stance against slavery. The YWCA, as part of its core mission of eliminating racism wherever it is found, is a natural partner in the ABetterWestVirginia project of redefining stereotypes in the Mountain State.

We applaud the project’s coordinator, Jason Keeling, and join with bloggers around the state to send a message: just as West Virginians were among the righteous few who understood the moral repugnancy of slavery, we also reject the definition of our proud people as being, at best, socially backward and, at worst, racist at heart. For more than 100 years, the YWCA has been fighting this perception and renews its commitment to that ideal today, on the eve of West Virginia Day.

West Virginia’s undeserved status as the butt of the nation’s jokes is once again big news. When Sen. Barack Obama lost to Sen Hilary Clinton in the Democratic presidential primary here in May, national media outlets had a field day. Their explanation? West Virginians are racist bigots who would never vote for a black man.

But the national media hasn’t bothered to look beyond their 10-second soundbites. If so, they would see that the YWCA’s national mission, which is proudly embraced by the YWCAs around the country and in West Virginia, is to eliminate racism and empower women. The West Virginia Hate Crimes Task Force, of which the YWCA of Charleston is a member, meets on a quarterly basis. The YWCA of Charleston is one of the co-sponsors of an open community forum on racism and intolerance. This event, which is scheduled for August 5 from 6-8 p.m. at the Marriott, will be lead by former skinhead T.J. Lydon. We encourage all who are concerned about this issue to join us and our other co-sponsors at this important community event.

It’s not just our humble beginnings in 1863 that speaks to West Virginia’s embrace of ethnic and cultural diversity. West Virginia played a key role in the 1960 presidential race, when John. F. Kennedy, a Roman Catholic, campaigned in the coalfields of West Virginia. The nation assumed rural Protestants would never vote for a Catholic man. They were wrong. Kennedy’s message transcended man-made socio-cultural barriers, and voters in West Virginia selected him over Democratic rival Hubert Humphrey. Until his life was cut tragically short, Kennedy remained grateful to the people of West Virginia for their forward-thinking role in electing the nation’s first Catholic president.

As our nation again marches toward another historic election, the YWCA of Charleston continues its efforts to eliminate cultural bias through community education and advocacy. Please be clear. The YWCA of Charleston isn’t endorsing any candidate. Instead, we are trusting our community and our culture to redefine the unfortunate stereotypes that have caused so much pain and choose a candidate based on their individual merits and qualifications. With so many issues facing our great state today, we must send the same message that we’ve been sending since our historic formation in 1863: that we are a principled people undeterred by racial bigotry and the undeserved labels heaped upon our state.

Live on the Levee - more than just great music

One of the many wonderful perks to living in the city of Charleston, WV, is the opportunity to attend countless concerts, festivals, and other forms of art and entertainment during the warm summer months. Among these events is the City of Charleston’s Live on the Levee concert series every Friday night at Haddad Riverfront Park. Great live music, combined with excellent local food vendors and a top-notch view of the Kanawha River, create a fun and relaxing atmosphere for the whole family.

Many are unaware, however, that the goal of Live on the Levee is “good fun for a good cause.” And one such good cause is the YWCA of Charleston! We are one of five local social service non-profits that benefits from the sale of raffle tickets during each of the Friday evening concerts.

Visit with volunteers from YWCA Sojourner’s and YWCA Resolve on Friday, July 25 as they represent our cause at the levee – but don’t let that stop you from contributing any other evening as well! Proceeds are collected by the city after the final concert on August 22 and divided between these deserving organizations. For a full concert schedule, visit http://www.cityofcharleston.org/events.htm.

Father's Day tribute

Planning a celebration for the special fathers in your life? YWCA Sojourner’s is! On Sunday, female residents at the YWCA Sojourner’s Shelter for Homeless Women and Families are preparing a special dinner to honor the five fathers currently residing there. You see, Sojourner’s does not limit its shelter and comprehensive services to homeless women and children – it serves men with custody of their children too, as well as intact families.

Although our mission here at the YWCA is to eliminate racism and empower women, we never want to lose sight of our vision to create peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all people. So on that note, Happy Father’s Day.

Stop the summer brain drain

School's out! And many parents are concerned about how to enrich their children's lives over the summer and stop what experts call "the brain drain." According to Dr. Ruth Peters, a contributor to MSNBC, all students experience learning losses when they do not engage in educational activities during the summer.

For local parents, there is an answer to the summer brain drain. The YWCA Child Enrichment Center's (CEC) Summer Camp Program. In addition to the usual summer activities, like swimming, bowling and hiking, the summer campers at CEC enjoy education lectures from guest speakers; field trips to places like Build-A-Bear and The Clay Center; and instruction in language, art and performance. One of the highlights of summer camp is the Kanawha County Library's summer reading program. Each week, the library makes books available to summer campers and they earn rewards for their efforts.

The $85 weekly summer camp fee includes breakfast, lunch, snacks and all activities and field trips. Register your child today and continue his or her enrichment and learning opportunities the YWCA's Child Enrichment Center. Call 340-3560 to enroll or for more information.

Advocating for Domestic Violence Funding

With looming budget crunches in the public, private and government sectors alike, non-profit funds are becoming increasingly scarce. To take a proactive approach to this issue, two YWCA Resolve Family Abuse Program staff members are joining fellow members of the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence today at 2:30 in a roundtable discussion with Susan Williams of The Gazette. Their goal? To make a case for a one-time $1 million allocation from Governor Joe Manchin.

These funds – which unfortunately were awarded for the past two years but never allocated – would be divided between the Coalition’s 14 licensed programs (approx. $18,000 per county in West Virginia). YWCA Resolve plays a crucial role here in our own backyard by ensuring that victims of domestic violence and their children are provided a safe haven and essential support services – enabling them to build lives free of fear and violence. Last year, YWCA Resolve provided comprehensive services to more than 3,000 victims, children, and batterers in Kanawha, Clay and Boone counties.

Want to become an advocate yourself? Contact your state senators and delegates and ask them to support this $1 million allocation during the state legislature’s June Interim Session. Visit http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Contact/capmail.cfm to find your representatives’ phone number and address.

Starting the conversation

Welcome.

The YWCA of Charleston invites you on this journey where we hope to discuss social issues and discover solutions to injustices that occur here in our community. From time to time, we will invite experts, colleagues, local activists and leaders to lead us in this conversation. In order for this to be a conversation, we must have dialogue. Dialogue can only occur when two or more people are discussing a topic. Otherwise, it simply becomes a monologue. We aren't looking to stand on a soapbox. We're looking to start a conversation that will then hopefully ignite passion within you, which will lead to community activism and to changing our world.

In this dialogue, we expect we'll meet new people; likely make new friends; catch up with old friends and maybe even discover a little something about ourselves and the world in which we live, work and play. Welcome to the YWCA of Charleston's blog: empowering perspectives.