YWCA Central Indiana

08/31/2026

Good afternoon, Facebook friends and family! Just a reminder: due to the upcoming Labor Day holiday, YWCA Central IN and YWCA Resale Shop are closed to the public from 9/4-9/7. YWCA will reopen to the public on Tuesday, 9/8, and the Resale Shop will reopen on Friday, 9/11! Thank you!

08/26/2026

Help us help her. Donate today. https://ywcacentralindiana-bloom.kindful.com/

08/25/2026

Teresa lay on the floor after being slammed against a wall by her boyfriend. Images of past fights raced through her memory: nights where stale beer tossed in her face and being called nasty names was normal. Nights like this.

She was rushed into emergency surgery. The incident left her confined to a wheelchair. In the months that followed she endured multiple restorative surgeries and endless physical therapy.

Once she was able to walk again, she made a plan. “When he said he was working for sixteen hours that day, I left everything. As soon as I got well, I started running and I ran to a place where these church people helped me.”

After enduring years of physical and emotional abuse from domestic partners, Teresa left her home in South Bend and relocated to a shelter specializing in domestic violence. She had just started to get acquainted with her new community when she was spotted by a friend of her ex-partner.

“I ran right back to the shelter and I told them, ‘I got to go, I can’t go back down that path.’”

The South Bend shelter referred Teresa to A Better Way in Muncie and after her allotted stay there, she was referred to the YWCA.

“I love Muncie. When I came here, I could feel that it was good. You know how you feel like… kinda like home.”

She says that that the YWCA is unlike anywhere else.

“I’ve never been in a place and felt so welcome. My goals are to help others as well: to come back here and talk to the board of directors and tell them how the staff has helped all of us in a lot of places we were hurting. I’ve been up in my room and have to pinch myself that I’m in one piece. I was just thinking, my friends, so young, in their twenties, didn’t even get to see thirty. I’m just so blessed that I survived because two of my friends didn’t. I’m the blessed one, but I sure wish they were also the blessed ones.”

08/20/2026

Help us help her. Donate today. https://ywcacentralindiana.org/donate/

08/20/2026

YWCA Central Indiana was one of 34 businesses and entities recognized Monday by Gov. Mike Braun for their longevity and commitment to their local communities.
Braun welcomed representatives of Indiana’s entrepreneurial and business community to the Indiana Statehouse, awarding the Governor’s Century and Half Century Business Awards to Hoosier businesses that have been supporting the state’s economy and communities for more than 100 and 50 years, respectively.
“Today is a celebration of these Indiana businesses and a recognition of the dedication and resilience they have shown over the past 50 or 100 years,” Braun said in the announcement. “These 34 businesses have been powering Indiana's economy for decades and are true examples of the Hoosier spirit and work ethic, demonstrating a remarkable commitment to their crafts, their customers and their communities.”
More than 1,300 Indiana companies have been recognized during the awards’ 34-year history. Braun mentioned the state’s dependence on small businesses and praised the often-relentless nature of the work.
YWCA Central Indiana President and CEO WaTasha Barnes Griffin and Board President Dr. Kiesha Warren-Gordon, professor at Ball State University, attended the event, along with Juli Metzger, a retired journalist, Ball State University educator, and YWCA capital campaign fundraising co-chair. Also attending were Tracina Greenleaf, the YWCA operations manager, and YWCA Outreach Coordinator DeDee Walker. and for the state’s recognition.”
Founded in 1911 in Muncie, YWCA Central Indiana works to eliminate racism, empower women, promote social justice, help families, and strengthen the community it serves.
The YWCA offers an emergency shelter for women and children that includes wraparound services, as well as education in financial literacy, housing, and professional development. It serves a seven-county region including Delaware, Blackford, Jay, Henry, Randolph, Grant and Madison counties.
“We help our clients move toward a life of safety, stability, and opportunity. Safe shelter may be the first thing you think of when you think of us, but it shouldn’t be the last,” Barnes Griffin said.
Indiana Economic Development Corporation

08/19/2026

Living with her mother and large family, Erin worked and cared for her daughter. Then her peacekeeping mother moved from the home and Erin endured constant screaming, fighting and resentment. Erin found herself in a situation that drained her emotionally and financially.

With negative influences and verbal abuse abounding, Erin finally said enough. She began searching for a place where she and her daughter could go.

Erin found the YWCA’s shelter online. Moving in was a good choice for her daughter, Erin felt.

“Everybody at the YWCA is real nice and there’s a lot here for us, like classes I can do. When you’re living here you really have to do what you came to do. No holding back.”

Erin nodded to herself. “I just need to keep moving forward, you know? It’s important to me so I need to remember that. There are a lot of things I can learn, so long as I remember I have to do the work.”

Sometimes following rules and having to go to goal-setting meetings is tiring, Erin admitted. And at times, Erin considered leaving.

“When I first got to the YWCA I got mad because I was getting called out for not making good choices. I was not the best parent. But then I thought, why go backwards when I can keep going forward? Here people are always helping me try to be a better parent and help me push through all of this. People here see that I am changing and even the staff is telling me that.”

Having moved into the YWCA’s transitional resident housing program with her daughter, Erin works as hard as ever to change the ending of her story.

“I’m just waiting for the right opportunity, working on getting a job and then get my own place. It’s a great thing they do here. I’m glad I came to the YWCA.”

08/18/2026

Whoo hoo! Thank you George and Frances Ball Foundation for your support of all things YWCA Central Indiana. Friends, we're in the GFBF annual report! Check out the $1.1 million dedicated to our Yes, ME! Capital campaign. This is a HUGE community steward and we are grateful beyond measure.https://www.gfballfdn.org/uploads/1/2/4/2/124206994/2025_annual_report_-_gfbf.pdf

08/17/2026

There is a growing crisis facing women and children across East Central Indiana: the shortage of affordable housing and the increased challenges with the Housing Choice Voucher system. These barriers are causing more families to seek emergency shelter – and to stay longer than ever at places like YWCA Central Indiana.

We are seeing women and children enter our shelter with no pathway out, not because they aren’t trying, but because the housing simply doesn’t exist.

Families are doing everything right, yet the system is gridlocked.

Read more:

As the holiday season approaches, there is a growing crisis facing women and children across East Central Indiana: the shortage of affordable housing and the increased challenges with the Housing Choice Voucher system.

08/14/2026

Thank you to our friends at Heart of Indinaa United Way for always looking out for us.

Cause campaigns throughout the year

08/14/2026

Transitional housing build underway

We are honored to support this effort to increase access to much-needed housing in Muncie. Together to House is a bold, community-driven initiative creating 38 units of high-quality Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) across three scattered sites across the Old West End, South Central, and Thomas Park neighborhoods. A partnership between Radiant CDC, Cours Capital, Open Door Health Services Muncie Mission, and the City of Muncie, this project is a direct outcome of the region’s new Housing Consortium strategic plan, providing formerly homeless individuals with dignified housing and wraparound care. Partners broke ground this week!