Helping Hands

April 2021
YWCA of McLean County

Bridging the Gap: From Incarcer- convicted of a felony or not and that causes many
employers to automatically throw the applications out
ation to Normal Life and not even give people a chance. YWCA provides
By: Milena Lynn employment services to women to help them with job
search preparation, how to find potential places of em-
According to the National Institute of Justice, ployment, how to prepare for job interviews and how
44% of criminals released from prison return before to use soft skills. They also educate employers in the
they even get to a year out of prison, 68% end up back area what kinds of benefits they can get if they hire the
in prison within three years and 77% end up back women that the YWCA is helping.
within five years. There’s no doubt, these are concern- Another program that is available is the Lab-
ing statistics, from the individuals affected by the yrinth Made Goods program. In this program the
crimes committed, to family members of the impris- YWCA teaches women skills that they can use in
oned, to taxpayers. The YWCA of McLean County is future jobs
trying to help and all the
these individ- proceeds from
uals get back this business
on their feet go back into
with the YWCA helping these
Labyrinth Out- women suc-
reach Services ceed in their
to Women future endeav-
program. The ors. Laby-
vision for the rinth Made
Labyrinth pro- Goods sells
gram is to help hand-filled,
lower the num- 100% soy wax
bers of people, candles with
specifically premium fra-
women who grances. The
end up back in The ladies of the Labyrinth Made Goods with their candles they made
candles come
prison within five years of getting out. The specific fo- in a variety of scents and are $30 each for 12 oz. In this
cus is on the women that are released from the Illinois program we provide professional development train-
Department of Corrections and McLean County Jail. ing, apprenticeships, and permanent employment.
“We help rebuild each woman’s dignity and nurture her At the YWCA Labyrinth Outreach Services to
growth as she develops the attitudes and skills required Women program the aim is to bridge the gap between
for productive, independent living,” says Kara Kirk the incarceration and being a contributing member of so-
director of the Labyrinth program. ciety. The YWCA of McLean county would not be able
YWCA of McLean county wants to help these to achieve these goals without the amazing community
women obtain their goals and become contribut- of support.
ing members of society. They have several programs
included in the Labyrinth Outreach Services to Wom-
en to help achieve this goal. It is hard for people that
have been incarcerated because on applications in
most states people must mark whether they have been
A Month of Teal
By: Milena Lynn
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM).
There are several ways you can show your support
and one way is to wear teal every Tuesday throughout
the month of April. Do not forget to tag #SAAM2021
when posting your selfies wearing teal to social media.
There are several teal painted rocks hidden throughout
the Bloomington-Normal community. These rocks are
hidden in plain sight on public properties. Make sure
to take pictures and tag us at #SAAM2021 or #IStill-
Rise when you find them. With the explosion of tech-
nology, we are able to do events like these but there
is a danger of technology as well. Sexual assault can
take on many different forms and has increased greatly
with the use of technology. Make sure to follow all our
social media accounts to stay updated and get tips on
how to spot sexual assault and how to prevent it. Find
us under YWCA McLean County on Facebook, @
YWCAMcLean on Twitter, and ywcamcleancounty on
Instagram.
How You Can Make a Difference
By: Milena Lynn
There are many ways to help our causes at YWCA
of McLean County. You can volunteer for the many
events we host throughout the year. We have such a
wide variety of programs and services that we can put
anyone’s skills and talents to use. We even take groups
of volunteers if you are part of a group that would like
to become a part of our vision. To learn more about
volunteering go to our website and under https://
ywcamclean.org/how-to-help to see all the programs
that we have to offer. You can also give us a call at
(309) 662-0461 or send us an email to ywcajobs@
ywcamclean.org. If you don’t have any free time, don’t
worry you can still donate to help change lives. You
can donate through our website, through the Amazon-
Smile program or you can even mail a donation to us
at YWCA McLean County, Attn: Philanthropy, 1201
North Hershey Road, Bloomington, IL 61704.