Firesteel

How can we build better communities where everyone is welcome and safe? We sat down with safe streets advocate and bus enthusiast Jazmine Smith to talk about how cities are designed in ways that are hostile to Black women.

YWCA is working hard to re-employ King County residents by providing relevant job training and placement services. The Economic Advancement team is striving to build equity in our community through a new program called Work$Ready.

Right now, one of the most important ways we can all keep our community healthy and safe is by staying home. However, systemic injustices that prevent someone from staying home safely reveal the broken systems and long-standing equity barriers in our society.

Washington State has the most upside-down tax system in America, and it disproportionately hurts Black women. As a result, the people making the least are forced to pay the largest share of their income in taxes.

While average wages have gone up in Washington State, retail workers are still put in the position of rescheduling their lives on short notice after bosses make last-minute changes to work schedules. "Simone" tells her story of long commutes and missed college classes due to bad scheduling practices, and how gaining a secure schedule changed her life for the better.

The 2020 Washington State Legislative session starts this week, with legislators convening to begin tackling the issues facing our state. YWCA will be working hard to pass strong policies to improve the lives of women and communities of color across three areas of focus: housing, justice system reform, and economic empowerment.