Joyce has never been so excited about a garbage can. Or kitchen utensils. Or any of the other little details that come with apartment life. She has reason to be: as one of the 153 homeless women who received permanent housing through the YWCA’s Opportunity Place, she finally has a place to call her own.

“I’m so excited about this,” she says, as she turns the key to her new apartment door for the first time. “It has been a long time coming. This is mine. This is a new start for me!”

Joyce was laid off from her job as a medical secretary and found herself unable to afford permanent housing. She had been in the shelter system for nine months when she discovered Angeline’s Day Center for Homeless Women, a program run by the YWCA in Opportunity Place.

The supportive staff at Angeline’s connected Joyce with the new Opportunity Place housing program. They also provided counseling, employment services and resources that helped her move toward self-sufficiency.

Thanks to the YWCA, Joyce now has access to the things that most people take for granted. Pointing at her trash can, she says, “This may not mean much to other people, but this time around, I’m going to enjoy looking at this clock. I’m going to enjoy turning off that light switch. I’m going to enjoy flushing that commode—in privacy.”