photo by: Joselyn King

Lori Jones, executive director of YWCA Wheeling, and board member Latisha Cummings enjoy their time at the annual board meeting for YWCA Wheeling Thursday.

A $10 million renovation is nearly complete at the YWCA Wheeling building, as many women still have a need for the services that are provided there.

In addition, there are questions about the future of diversity, equity and inclusion programs offered by the agency.

YWCA Wheeling held its annual board meeting and luncheon on Wednesday, giving supporters a chance to see many of the upgrades that have been ongoing there over the past two years of construction.

“It has been a tough year – correction, a tough two years,” said Lori Jones, executive director of YWCA Wheeling. “But it looks amazing. When I look around I’m impressed with what we have accomplished…

“But if you think we’re done now because we’re pretty, you don’t know us very well.”

Among those speaking at the luncheon was Ron Scott Jr., director of cultural diversity and community outreach for YWCA Wheeling.

“It will be a little different this year because there are going to be some bandaids and other changes coming from our governor and president,” Scott said. ‘My programs specifically will be affected moving forward – but, it won’t be affected because of our work. We will continue to do the work as passionately as we always have.”

Scott said the type of work he does “needs partnerships” in the community, and supporters who believe in people and programs that can help people through what issues they are experiencing.

He expressed confidence that many partnerships will continue, while others funded by government agencies likely will be curtailed.

“We’ll keep turning it out,” he said. “We’re not going to stop.”

As an example, the YWCA Wheeling’s annual Project on Racism Contest was done in partnership with West Virginia’s Herbert Henderson Office of Minority Affairs.

“That office is closing, and it won’t be a statewide competition anymore,” Scott continued. “But we will keep it alive and keep it local – unless we can find someone statewide to sponsor.”

The contest each year has invited West Virginia students to create original poster, art, music, film or essay submissions to celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

During the luncheon, board members were presented with next year’s budget for YWCA Wheeling, which has been set at $2,387,970. That is about $367,000 higher than the current fiscal year’s budget, according to information provided by the agency.

Data on help provided by the agency during the 2024-2025 fiscal years also was reviewed by board members.

Family Violence Prevention Program workers assisted 852 people during the fiscal year, and provided 13,195 services,

Sixty-seven adults and 22 children found sanctuary at the YWCA Wheeling, and stayed there a cumulative 4,074 nights.

The agency also helped six women and four children achieve the start of independence by living in transitional housing. Collectively, they used transitional housing a total of 1,520 nights.

There was also discussion about the Women Inspired In New Directions (WIND) program at YWCA Wheeling. The program is a three-phase, non-treatment residential recovery and re-entry program serving Marshall and Ohio counties.

There were 27 participants in the WIND program who spent a total of 2,370 nights at the facility. While there, residents completed 1,943 hours of community service.

The need continues, Jones noted.

“The sad part is we have not worked ourselves out of a job,” she said. “The challenges still exist. But this year, despite these challenges, we’ve built something powerful. We’ve rebuilt our base and strengthened our team. It’s a team that is committed, and a team that shows up every single day to do the good work of this community.

“Together we are making an impact — meeting basic needs and bringing hope to where it is needed the most,” Jones added.