History & Programs
HISTORY - The YWCA opened its doors in 1875!
The YWCA Montreal opened its doors in 1875 to welcome women arriving from the Quebec countryside during the rural exodus of the late nineteenth century. Today it serves a large clientele of immigrant women from all over the world. Immigration is an ambitious undertaking which requires a lot of strength and adjustment. Immigrants often find themselves isolated in a foreign country without the familiar symbols or landmarks that facilitate mobility, learning, work or social exchange - in short integration. The YWCA Montreal has programs to assist integration and much more. No matter their place of birth, women can find themselves imprisoned by a difficult marriage, a spiral of consumption or a state of psychological distress. They can also find their options limited by family obligations or simply a lack of training. The YWCA employs all of its resources to prevent violence and improve the living conditions of women. The organization encourages women’s autonomy by developing knowledge and skills, strengthening self-esteem and critical thinking, providing social and workforce integration and supporting participation in community life. The mission of the YWCA is expressed through various programs designed to meet women’s needs:
135 years of history!
Founded in 1875 by eight society women, members of Montreal’s English Protestant elite, the YWCA Montreal has evolved along with the times. Its initial mandate was to assist the many women arriving from the countryside during the rural exodus at the end of the 19th Century. Today, as a result of the great population shift associated with globalization, the organization serves an increasing number of immigrant women from all over the world. The YWCA must take stock of this new reality and adapt its approach in order to respond to the specific needs of these women, a major force in Quebec society, both present and future.
To prevent all forms of violence and improve their living conditions, the YWCA puts everything in place to increase women’s autonomy: knowledge and skills development, enforcing self-esteem and critical thinking, workforce integration and promotion of active citizenship.
The YWCA’s mission is expressed through a variety of programs adapted to women’s needs in such areas as housing, literacy, employability, entrepreneurship and leadership. The YWCA also provides a number of services for both women and men which include a hotel, an auberge and a legal information clinic. A daycare centre can also be found under its roof.
1845: First YMCA opens in England
1855: First YWCA opens in England
1875: YWCA Montreal (housing, library and basic training)
1880: Diet Dispensary
1885: Employment placement service
1893: First free nursery in Montreal
1895: Domestic science and culinary arts school
1900: Travellers aid for women
1907: First major capital campaign $50,000
1909: First gymnasium for women
1917: Camp Oolahwan opens
1921: Auxiliary nursing course
1930: Support and assistance during the depression
1940: Wartime auxiliary services
1949: Major capital campaign $1.5M
1952: Current building opens
1954: Emergency housing service
1962: Broad-based research study on women and their social roles
1964: Promotion of bilingualism; internally and in Quebec society
1968: Collaboration in the Bird Report
1972: First women’s centre in Montreal
1975: Transition House opens : welcoming women victims of conjugal violence and their children
1976: Major capital campaign $2M
1977: Nouveau Départ program
1978: Collaboration in the “Pour les québécoises, égalité et indépendence” report
1980: Management Centre
1983: The Bricoleuse workshop and TAMS program
1985: Legal Information Clinic, collaboration with Moisson Montreal and major capital campaign $3M
1992: Literacy Centre
1993: “OSE” program
1995: Women’s Y Foundation
1996: The Single Mothers program
1998: Workforce Integration Enterprise: Fringues & Cie
1999: Major capital campaign $10.5M
2000: Leadership in Action program
2001: ABC en famille and Community Kitchen programs
2003: Hotel and Auberge renovated and Action research project on violence
2004: Early Sexualization research study
2005: Summer Space day camp
2007: Entrepreneurship Centre and Green Committee
2008: Girls Action Council
2009: Expertise and Training, Leadership Department
2010: Scotiabank Charitable Challenge
2010: 135th Anniversary!
