Deb Dickerson, senior division director of programs, special initiatives, and advocacy, oversees all YWCA programs. Ms. Dickerson has more than 30 years of experience in both the corporate and public sectors. Prior to joining the YWCA Boston staff, she was employed at Work/Family Directions for nine years as a dependent-care consultant to corporations, helping them to identify community investment opportunities. Deb also worked for ten years at the Massachusetts Department of Social Services as a social worker for abused and neglected children, and as a program specialist helping families who were at risk of becoming homeless.
YWCA Boston
The YWCA Boston, with its mission to empower women and eliminate racism, is nationally recognized for its success in addressing the social issues of urban communities. Over the last century the YWCA has been a key force in Boston, providing opportunities for women’s advancement and racial justice. It emphasizes safe affordable housing and supportive services, health promotion and wellness initiatives, and youth and community leadership opportunities.
Aswalos House empowers homeless pregnant and parenting teenage girls to develop the resilience and skills they need to take full responsibility for their family's well-being, both emotionally and financially. Aswalos House provides approximately 20 young mothers annually with the resources to ensure that they finish high school, delay second pregnancies, and become consistent providers, good parents, and responsible caregivers.
ENCOREPlus was started in 1993 to address the lack of access to breast and cancer education, screening, and early-detection methods faced by traditionally underserved populations. Studies showed that early detection was key to combating breast cancer, yet the message was not reaching those most at risk of a late diagnosis. ENCOREPlus aims to reach women who are not aware of, do not have access to, or are not confident enough to use available health care services The program’s goal is to arm these women with practical knowledge about their breast health; to ease mistrust of the medical system and fear of a positive finding; to remove language, cultural, and transportation barriers; and to empower the women to take all the necessary steps to address breast health needs.
Generations Learning Together (GLT) was launched in 1999 by YWCA Boston as part of the GrandFamilies House and is one of the first programs in the nation to answer the multiple needs of grandfamilies. GrandFamilies House is the first supportive independent-living residence in the nation for low-income grandparents raising their grandchildren. This unique model was developed as a joint venture with Boston Aging Concerns--Young and Old United (BAC-YOU), the Women’s Institute for Housing and Economic Development, and YWCA Boston.
GLT organizes a continuum of programs to serve an intergenerational mix of residents, providing preschool, after-school, and summer programs for children , as well as enrichment classes and family preservation services for grandparents. The primary goals of Generations Learning Together are to:
provide children with individualized curricula that address their specialized needs;
increase school-age children’s access to and achievement in the areas of science, math, and technology;
develop an effective partnershipof the home, Boston public schools, and GLT’s programs to help improve children’s school readiness and in-school performance;
provide grandparents with support at meetings requiring self-advocacy, with routine respite from caregiving, and with exposure to appropriate parenting techniques.
Youth Voice Collaborative (YVC) is designed to provide high-quality, engaging after-school activities and improve the academic performance and critical thinking skills of urban youth in middle and high school. YVC uses the media as a tool to engage youth, teaching them to analyze media messages and images through the lenses of race and gender, and it helps youth to create media that express their own authentic voices and experiences. This approach connects directly with the YWCA's mission to empower women and promote racial justice. YVC encourages teens to discover how the media impact values and attitudes toward race, gender, and other social issues. Its young people use these newly developed critical-thinking skills to improve school performance. YVC is free of charge and serves youth in middle school and high school.
