The YWCA of Cambridge was founded in 1891 to give female factory workers a safe residence and the opportunity to learn penmanship, etiquette, dressmaking, stenography and other useful skills. The mission of the YWCA was to promote the rights and freedom of women, and its founders understood that to become independent, women needed a safe environment in which they could learn essential professional and daily living skills.
More than a century later, the YWCA of Cambridge continues to serve the needs of women and children by providing residential assistance and access to a variety of training programs, although we now counsel women in financial responsibility and interviewing techniques rather than millinery. We have also broadened our mission encompass both the empowerment of women and the elimination of racism.
The YWCA of Cambridge has grown to become the largest residential facility for women in the city. We provide temporary and permanent housing for displaced women, homeless women and children, women with HIV/AIDS, battered women, and women recovering from substance abuse. Because our goal for all these women is that they are able to live fruitful lives outside the YWCA, we encourage them to participate in job training and educational programs. Because those skills are not always enough to survive independently, we also offer training in a variety of daily living skills, such as money management, health and awareness, and parenting techniques.