We Work to Raise Awareness and Foster Systematic Change Around Racial and Gender Equity as They Relate to YWCA’s Policy Initiatives
Public Policy
YWCA Kalamazoo was selected to represent Michigan in a three-state pilot advocacy initiative to eliminate policies and practices that criminalize youth of color.
In 2018, our staff spent 29 hours engaging with elected officials to positively affect systems change related to education, human trafficking, and domestic violence.
YWCount & YWomenVote
YWCA Kalamazoo openly supports the completion of a full, fair, and accurate census, and work with other community leaders to reach hard-to-count community members. Promoting an accurate census gets to the very heart of YWCA’s mission of eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all.
In our national survey, YWomenVote 2020, we found that women and women of color across the country are overwhelmingly motivated to vote. This survey was conducted by a non-partisan process with the help of a Democratic and a Republican pollster. Contrary to popular belief that the country is very politically divided, we found that not only are women united on the issues regardless of their demographics: women are enthusiastic about voting and women expect leaders to take action to address issues that directly impact them
State Advocacy Agenda
The YWCAs of Michigan will focus our collective efforts on the unjust treatment of people of color in our communities. We believe that when community members come together, we can arrive at solutions that benefit everyone and create safer communities for all. The agenda was adopted after seeking input from community members and partners and is available below.
Strong Attendance for Every (S.A.F.E.) Student Act
Strong Attendance for Every (S.A.F.E.) Student Act would amend the current Michigan school code section under Act 451 of 1976 to better address and understand the impact of school pushout on Michigan students.
