Senator Montgomery welcomes the YWCA of Brooklyn and the young women of the YW LEAD College Access Program

For than 150 years, the YWCA has been a leading voice on social justic issues - from women's suffrage, to the civil rights movement, to creating economic and educational opportunities for women, to advocacy for domestic violence victims and violence prevention, to providing affordable housing for seniors, veterans and women of all ages. 

The YWCA of Brooklyn is one of the oldest women's organizations in New York State. This historic chapter of the YWCA was founded in the late 1880s for the advancement of women in New York City. It currently stands as the only YWCA in NYC with it's own facility. 

The YWCA of Brooklyn provides affordable housing to 300 women and offers a vast array for programming for its residents and the community. One of its newest initiatives is the Young Women's College Access and Leadership Devolopment program which empowers young women from Brooklyn. This multi-faceted program provides academic support through tutoring, SAT prep, STEM Programming and more. The skills and work ethic that is instilled in these young women play a vital role in not only breaking barriers of access to higher education but developing important life skills that will help them for years to come.

As part of their leadership development, the young women have become advocates on issues important to them. In their most recent visit to Albany, the girls met with representatives from the Governor's office and members of the Legislature to advocate for passage of  Senator Montgomery's School Suspension bill S.767. This important legislation seeks to end the school to prison pipeline by implementing a uniform code of conduct for school discipline across the state, eliminate suspensions for Pre-K students and for some minor infractions, and reduce the maximum amount of suspension time from 180 days to 20 days.

To learn more about the YW Leadership Program click here.

To learn more about Senator Montgomery's work with the YWCA, visit:

https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/articles/velmanette-montgomery/senator-montgomery-joins-ywca-brooklyn-panel-discussion 

https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/articles/velmanette-montgomery/senator-montgomery-and-assemblywoman-simon-celebrate-130th

https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/articles/velmanette-montgomery/senator-montgomery-assemblyman-mosley-st-josephs-college?tab=&page=5