Jenee Bailey, honored at the 2008 Open Your Purse event

Jenee Bailey

2009 Power of the Purse Award

Women In Transition Graduate

Helping women become whole in every area of their lives is what we do at the YWCA of Greater Atlanta. That includes emotional wellness as much as anything. Perhaps the following story—Jenee’s Story—is as good an example as we can give. Here it is, in her own words:

I didn’t think that my story was important, and I certainly didn’t think it was worthy. I had my first baby at sixteen, another at eighteen, another at nineteen, and a fourth at twenty-three. Obviously, I have made some bad decisions, which I admit.

I have been in and out of abusive relationships for years and have suffered greatly because of them. Education has not been a priority for me because I needed to feed and clothe my kids. When I lost my job in early 2007, my kids and I were about to be evicted. The future for us looked very grim, and I didn’t know what I was going to do. In desperation, I turned to the YWCA.

The Women In Transition program at the Cascade House took me in, gave me what I needed to support my children, taught me how to be a better parent, and how to support my family. I’m not kidding; they did all that for me. Today, I am self-sufficient.

I am gainfully employed. I have dreams I know I can fulfill, and for the first time in my life, I know my words are important. The YWCA gave me dignity.

Just a few short years ago, Jenee would never have been able to tell a story like this. She was defeated and had virtually no self-worth. All of that changed because of her involvement with the YWCA, through a program funded by generous supporters and the United Way.

Our purpose is to help those in trouble—those in crisis.