‘Truly remarkable’ | Donators talk the importance of Knoxville’s YWCA ahead of renovations

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - After serving the community from the same location for the last 99 years, the YWCA Knoxville Center is getting a much-needed renovation.

This is the first major renovation that this building has gone through in its existence.

“When the renovations done, we will be able to have more women in our program, and we’ll also have a better living environment for them,” YWCA’s Knoxville CEO Stephanie Burrage said.

The YWCA has existed since 1899 and aims at helping women on the verge of homelessness temporary housing. While this is considered a transitional period, these women will learn to be self sufficient again and get back on their feet.

“We have a number of programs, from financial counseling to mental health counseling to addiction recovery,” Burrage said. “We meet the women wherever they’re at and then work with them on their goals.”

The renovation project is set to make some big changes to the YWCA’s Knoxville Center.

For starters, the renovated building will be named the Nancy J. Land Center. This new center will be able to offer more space for new residents as well as offering a better living situation to its current residents.

“The YWCA does so many wonderful things for these women who are just desperate,” said Nancy Land, who renovated the residents’ rooms in 2009. “And the woman said, ‘thank you for making my home so beautiful’ and that touched my heart and it still does today.”

“Capacity is our biggest issue. A lot of people are hurting these days, and so it’s really nice that we’ll be able to help more people here,” said Stephen Land. “The YWCA has a more than 90 percent success rate. They turn their lives around and become successful members of society. They leave here stronger and able to contribute back.”

Each year, the Knoxville center has to turn down over 1,200 women due to lack of space. Now, with the help of the community, they are hoping to make that number smaller. The Land’s are excited to be supporters of an organization that has supported others for so long.

“What they do is truly remarkable. Their success rate and the fact that they’re able to help these women at a fraction of the cost that some government program would cost,” the Lands said.

For many, the sense of feeling at home is the key to growing. The YWCA is hoping that making their building feel more comfortable for their residents will help in their growth.

“This renovation is going to help in a lot of ways to give the women a better place to live, and that will also help with them working on their programs,” Burrage said. “When you have a safe house and a safe place to live, it’s a lot easier to work on the other things that are barriers.”

Click here to donate to the YWCA.