Women and children first
In building Fina House, the YWCA stands by its mission
In 1892, civic-minded women from the Merrimack Valley created an organization to provide housing and other services to women arriving from area farms or as immigrants to work in Lawrence's mills and shops.
A little more than a century later, the organization, the YWCA of Greater Lawrence, is undertaking a $5.5 million construction project that its leaders say reflects how that original mission has endured.
In September, the YWCA Fina House, a new four-story building containing 20 affordably priced apartments, is scheduled to open on Haverhill Street on Campagnone Common, a short walk from the YWCA's existing building in the heart of downtown Lawrence.
The facility will include seven units of permanent housing for very low-income individuals or families, two of them set aside for people with disabilities. The housing is targeted for households headed by women, though other types of households will be eligible.
The building will also include 13 apartments of ''transitional" housing under two programs that the YWCA operates out of leased spaces in Lawrence. One serves nine families of women who are homeless because of domestic abuse. The other serves eight adolescent mothers and their preschool children.
''Our mission to empower women has not changed since 1892," said Mary B. O'Brien, deputy director of the YWCA of Greater Lawrence. ''We do it a little differently, and maybe the immigrant community has changed in terms of where the immigrants come from. But we are true to our mission of 1892."
She said the addition of the new residence -- the first major construction project for the organization since an addition was built to its Lawrence Street headquarters in the 1960s -- furthers that founding mission, which also includes eliminating racism.
''It's a very exciting time. It's wonderful to have an idea and then to see how it fits into our mission. . . and then to take steps to make it happen with the support of the state and the city," O'Brien said.
The project is funded through state and federal grant money -- some of it awarded through the city -- private donations, foundation grants, and bank loans. State and federal funds will also enable the YWCA to offer the housing and services at low cost. Clients will be charged based on their ability to pay.
The new facility is located on a lot that has been vacant since a Victorian house that sat on it was destroyed by fire several years ago. The YWCA in 2003 purchased the property, which is located between two churches, one of which abuts the public library.
YWCA Fina House takes its name from Angelina Fina, grandmother of the YWCA's executive director, Rebecca A. Hall. An Italian immigrant who was widowed as a young mother with three children, Fina was able to raise the family herself, eventually paying off the mortgage on their home. Hall was inspired to pursue a career with the YWCA from the struggles and the strength of her grandmother.
Lawrence Mayor Michael J. Sullivan lauded the project.
''It's creating permanent housing in the city, which we have a tremendous need for," he said. ''It's enhancing the transitional housing [for] women and families that are going through a tough time." He said it was also helping with the city's revitalization by placing ''a nice new attractive structure" on what had been an empty lot.
In addition to the transitional housing it offers at the two leased sites, the YWCA currently operates a 10-room housing program on the top floor of its building for single women who have become homeless due to domestic abuse.
Also in the building, the YWCA runs a program serving domestic violence victims (which also includes a legal advocacy office in Lawrence District Court); a regional rape crisis center; women's health advocacy programs; and child care and after-school programs. It has a pool and a gym that the YWCA and community groups use. The YWCA is installing an exterior elevator for the building.
The YWCA also owns and runs a summer camp in Salem, N.H.
O'Brien said that in addition to helping meet a pressing need for low-cost permanent housing in the city, YWCA Fina House will allow the organization to strengthen its transitional housing programs. Having the two programs under one roof, she said, will allow staff to more easily coordinate educational activities, and for women from the two programs to interact.
She said because of the close proximity of the two buildings, residents of YWCA Fina House will not only benefit from the services provided on site, such as vocational counseling, but from those available at the YWCA's main building. And she noted that those services will be available to residents of both the transitional and the permanent housing.
State Senator Susan C. Tucker of Andover, who helped the YWCA secure its state assistance, said the new home will help meet a ''desperate need for this type of housing, not only in Lawrence but all over Massachusetts, particularly for domestic violence victims and people with disabilities. And the YWCA provides excellent support services, which literally can transform the lives of young women and children."
Margaret Crockett of Andover, the YWCA's board president, calls the project ''a natural progression" for an organization dedicated to helping low-income women and their families become independent.
She said that the YWCA's experience has shown that housing is a ''critical element" for the women and families involved in that quest. 