In recent years, regionalism has been a hot topic in the news and a trend among area businesses and local governments. From boardrooms of area businesses to County Board and Common Council meetings, our elected leaders have looked to find ways to share services and create efficiencies. However, the benefits and efficiencies of regionalization are not unique to businesses and municipalities, they can be equally as important for nonprofit and service-oriented organizations.
At the YWCA, we recognize that the issues our visitors face, such as racism, transportation issues and unemployment, are not unique to one city or county. Rather, these are concerns that are shared throughout the region. We have found that by taking a regional approach to our work, we are able to create a pool of resources and best practices that can be shared and implemented across county boarders to offer our services more efficiently to more people.
That is why the YWCA Greater Milwaukee became the YWCA Southeast Wisconsin. As part of our effort to broaden our reach, we began by providing services to our neighbors in Racine, where we will continue to focus on eliminating racism and empowering women. When considering these two critical issues, Milwaukee and Racine have many similarities that point to the need for the type of programming the YWCA provides.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2010, the City of Milwaukee’s poverty rate was 29.4 percent in 2011, with the City of Racine’s poverty rate just slightly lower at 22.8 percent. These statistics highlight the need for programming that leads to economic empowerment for southeast Wisconsin residents.
In August, the City of Racine’s unemployment rate was 9.0 percent; the City of Milwaukee’s was 7.9 percent. These numbers point to a trend that has been the focus of many employers throughout the region, the need to prepare workers to meet employer demands. This is something we’ve excelled at in Milwaukee and hope to bring to Racine. Through our Career Opportunity Center, Community Adult Learning Lab, Skills for Success and Transitional Jobs Programs, we’re working to connect workers and their skill sets to available jobs in the communities we serve.
Additionally, both Racine and Milwaukee have vibrant minority populations. Though I wish there wasn’t a need for it, racial justice programming continues to be at the core of our mission. We will continue our youth and adult training programs focused on “unlearning” racism, and will look to eventually bring these programs to the Racine community in the future.
On the national level, the YWCA has a long-term goal to expand local association service areas to meet the needs of individuals in all regions of every state. As the YWCA Southeast Wisconsin, we are pleased to be a part of this effort to increase our mission impact in southeast Wisconsin by expanding our critical services, starting with the Racine community. We hope to encourage other leaders in the nonprofit community to join us in thinking regionally to meet the needs of the communities in which we live, work and play.
Paula Penebaker is president and CEO of the YWCA Southeast Wisconsin. For more information, visit www.ywcamilw.org.
