Staff members are in shock after YWCA Duluth announced it would no longer run the Spirit Valley Early Childhood Education Center or the Young Mothers Housing Program.
The move means 13 employees, represented by AFSCME, will be out of a job and several dozen childcare openings and the Young Mothers program face an uncertain future.
While the YWCA searches for another group to run the daycare program, AFSCME Field Representative Katie Hoyt says the Young Mothers program is harder to hand over because it requires a special license to work with 16-year-olds who are mothers. “It’s a huge deal up here,” Hoyt said. “This is a highly trafficked area and a lot of the clients come from trafficking and abuse.”
The program provides mothers ages 16-21 a safe place to live for at least a year and provides support as they try to become self-sufficient for themselves and their children. The program has helped about 45 moms and their children a year over the past 21 years, Hoyt said.
Hoyt said the process to negotiate a severance package for workers has been difficult — the administration has refused to sit at the same table with workers. “We felt that,” she added. “It’s been totally, utterly disrespectful.
“If the YWCA had started talking about this earlier, there might have been some way for a seamless transition.”
YWCA leadership has said that costs are the main reason for cutting these programs loose. “This decision is based on our understanding of how to stay flexible with the needs of diverse young women in our community and how to financially care for our 130+ year old nonprofit institution,” the organization wrote on the website of the Young Mothers program, adding that it is no longer taking applications.
“AFSCME members are losing their jobs and the community is losing valuable services. It’s disheartening that these girls aren’t protected and taken care of,” Hoyt said.
The organization that is best in a position to take over the YM program is licensed to provide services for 18- to 24-year-olds, and the 16-year-old license is not transferable, Hoyt said.
Negotiations were scheduled to continue on Oct. 11, after deadline for this issue. Check the website for updates.