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YWCA ‘Fix It’ Program Shows Women How To Make Small Home Repairs

YWCA ‘Fix It’ Program Shows Women How To Make Small Home Repairs

A new business started by the Wheeling YWCA has women learning electrical, plumbing and carpentry skills, then finding work in a community in need of small home repairs.

The YWCA now offers the “Y Fix It” service, a home repair business with trained women providing the labor.

The women come to “Y Fit It” after learning to change toilets, build sheds and do basic wiring through the free Step Up for Women pre-apprenticeship program of West Virginia Work Inc.

Local trades had been interested in recent years in starting the Step Up For Women program to teach them beginning contractor skills, but the idea hadn’t got off the ground, explained Tiffany Curtis, coordinator for Step Up for Women in Wheeling.

YWCA Executive Director Lori Jones said she was inspired to start a residential-based small repair business at the YWCA after learning from her 87-year-old aunt and her aunt’s friends they needed minor jobs done at their homes, some as simple as just climbing a ladder to change light bulbs or clear the gutters.

Jones saw there was a need in the community, and that women coming to the YWCA also were in need of gainful employment. Those who have jobs often work as housekeepers or bar tenders at minimum wage.

“If they have children and they are starting over, that is not a livable wage,” she said. “About 89 percent of the women who come here are either unemployed or underemployed, and we have been looking to find a way to assist them with their struggle.”

Jones said the YWCA first checked to see if starting such a business would affect their nonprofit status. After learning it wouldn’t, she enrolled in the Co-Starters Program for start-up business owners offered through Wheeling Heritage.

The YWCA and the building trades next came together to bring the Step Up for Women pre-apprenticeship training program to Wheeling, where it is located within the Ironworkers Local 549 building at 2350 Main St.

The 12-week program is free to women who are accepted, and classes take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. The only requirement is that the women be at least 18 years old and display the willingness and ability to attend all classes.

The first session of the program that began last summer had 62 applicants, with 15 women being chosen to participate, Curtis explained.

They began by learning the basics of electrical wiring, and how to wire an outlet. Their next project was to build a 10-foot by 12-foot utility shed from ground to roof, then they went on to education in plumbing skills.

Participants receive a three-month membership at World Gym in Bellaire to encourage physical conditioning, as well as a set of tools at no cost.

Those completing the program achieve their West Virginia electrician apprentice license, a plumber-in-training license, their Occupational Safety and Health Administration 10-hour construction safety certification; their Step Up For Women certificate of completion; and a carpenter helper certification.

Twelve of the women graduated the inaugural session in Wheeling, with most looking to increase their construction knowledge as apprentices in the union trades. Three came to work for “Y Fix It.”

Among them is Jennifer Danielson, who described herself as being “more quiet” when she started the program this summer.

“I have come out of my shell, and I know what I’m doing on certain things,” she said.

Curtis is herself a graduate of the Step Up For Women program in Morgantown, and she went on to work in the oil and gas industry before taking the job as the program’s coordinator in Wheeling.

“In the beginning, the women are scared and a little nervous,” she said. “They are thinking, ‘What am I getting myself into.’

“By the end, they have made new friendships,” Curtis said. “They are more confident, and they know they can do what they could never do.”

Garrett Weigel is director of the Y Fix It program at the YWCA and oversees the women on the job. He said the knowledge they already have gained will increase over time.

“We may not be able to build you a house, but we can fix your stairs,” he said.

The next Step Up for Women session begins in January, and Jones hopes it will produce more potential employees for Y Fix It. She admits the start-up business is being oversubscribed in its early days.

“Three women aren’t enough,” she said. “We are getting more work than our people can do.”

Those wanting details should contact the Step Up for Women program at 304-905-0783.

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