History

Board of Directors
YWCA Brandon Staff
YWCA Brandon 100th Anniversary

The Brandon YWCA opened in 1907, with a three-storey residence on 14th Street. Within six weeks, 25 women had taken up residence in the YWCA.

In 1909, the YWCA Residence moved to a new site on 11th street, and in 1911, the Brandon YWCA was incorporated by a special act of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. By 1917, the cornerstone of the current building at 148 - 11th Street was in place. The building of the residence was made possible by a bequest from the estate of Henry Meredith, a local businessman, in the amount of $10,000. In 2002, we named the residence YWCA Meredith Place in recognition of this bequest.

Throughout the years, a wide variety of services have been offered to the community – some of these included the Business Girls’ Club, the New Canadians Club, and War-Time Services. The YWCA offered young girls and women English language classes and courses to assist them with self-improvement and employment. Literacy classes, teen clubs, and a day care have been offered at the YWCA over the years. In particular, the YWCA Residence became a safe refuge for rural women who moved into the cities to secure job training and employment. Y's Choice Consignment Shop opened in 1962 in the basement of the Residence and in 1978 the YWCA Westman Women's Shelter opened on the third floor of the Residence. The Y’s Choice Consignment Shop was closed several years later in October 2002. We will miss it as a source of clothing and household goods for clients of the YWCA Westman Women’s Shelter and the YWCA Meredith Place.

As the needs of women and their families have evolved over the years, the YWCA’s programs have risen to the occasion. The organization currently offers its services from two facilities, YWCA Meredith Place and YWCA Westman Women's Shelter.