In the span of three months, Sydney has gone from lonely and stuck to confident and motivated. “I believe that I am able to do what I want to do now,” she said.
Sydney and her 17-month-old son Sterling began residing at the newly opened YWCA Live and Learn Center in February.
It’s the first time in several years she’s felt any stability after leaving home and a toxic relationship with her child’s father. She’s asked us not to use her full name.
The young mother is pursuing a degree in health and human services, getting support for recent autism diagnosis and moving in what she feels is the right direction.
“Even though it’s not like the perfect picture of being a stay-at-home mom like I wanted to be, I gotta do what I gotta do,” she said. “On top of that, there are some perks — having friends. Sterling, having friends.”
Most of all, Sydney sees her little family growing and developing, she said, “because I am here now and doing things for myself.”
The YWCA San Antonio, the local chapter of a national organization, purchased the former St. Andrew’s Convent at 2318 Castroville Rd. in 2021.
The former convent consisted of mostly 1960s-era buildings that once housed the religious women of the Missionary Catechists of the Divine Providence.
Like the sisters who established the convent out of old Army barracks in 1951 to serve the Mexican-American community, the YWCA has provided for almost 50 years social services including child care and early education services, youth programs and health care in the community.
The nonprofit eyed the site as a place to expand its existing social service programming into housing for young adult women who are unemployed and not in school, disengaged from other services and earning a low-to-moderate income.
Almost every other YWCA chapter across the country provides some sort of shelter or housing to clients. This would be the first for YWCA San Antonio, but it would not come without initial challenges.
When the organization sought rezoning for the Live and Learn Campus, neighboring residents questioned the plan and opposed the zoning change.
In March 2022, City Council approved the rezoning, with Councilwoman Teri Castillo (D5) saying, “This project aligns perfectly with the city’s … domestic violence [goals], the Strategic Housing Implementation Plan and the workforce training program.”
Velma Peña, president of the Westwood Square Neighborhood Association, said their concerns about the project had nothing to do with how the YWCA planned to use the property. “It was never about the program,” she said.
Peña said Westwood Square residents remain worried that, even with deed restrictions prohibiting use of the property for emergency sheltering, animal care or alcohol and drug abuse services, it would be up to the neighbors to sue a future owner if they violate the agreement.
More recently, the neighbors have been frustrated with construction-related street closures, she said.
A child care center is now under construction and future plans call for casitas to be built on the 9-acre property.
But with renovation of the dormitory complete, the first group of women, ages 18 to 26, and their children moved into the center in February. Each has their own dorm-style room and bathroom, and all share common living areas, a spacious kitchen and dining room, laundry facilities and study spaces.
YWCA staff call them the “Founding 10,” giving them the keys to a furnished room at the campus and the start of a new life.
Another 10 will be selected in June, with the founders participating in that process as they do many other aspects of establishing the campus.
“I think the biggest vision for this program really has been the autonomy of our women,” said Angelica Cervantes, chief operating officer at YWCA San Antonio.
While staff and case managers work in a building next door and are available to the residents, the dorm is run mostly by the residents. “It’s critical in their healings. It’s critical in their leadership development. It’s critical to give them voice, and it’s also critical in the divine investment in women,” Cervantes said.
The campus has the capacity for 40 women who can reside there for up to four years as they get the support and child care they need to work toward completing education or work training programs and becoming independent.
The Live and Learn Campus is designed to fill in the gaps where many other social welfare and residential programs fall short. Often, young mothers will age out of a program or lose benefits like child care when they begin to earn a paycheck or even enroll in a four-year degree program versus a two-year program.
They don’t need the kind of housing and support like individuals dealing with chronic homelessness or a disabling condition, but they need help to thrive and become independent.
“They won’t necessarily be needing help forever, so they’re not a good candidate for permanent supportive housing, but they still need support,” Cervantes said. “It’s this middle ground.”
The YWCA program is designed to give the women time to restabilize their lives, build wages and a savings account, and create an economic safety net, she said.
In the few months the center has been open, Sydney and the other women already have developed another kind of support system.
“It’s been the biggest honor to witness their fellowship and their bonding but for a bigger purpose,” Cervantes said.
“The women aren’t coming in here [for their] own individual gain, and that’s it,” she said. “As they’re troubleshooting normal conflicts and issues … they all kind of center back on, we’re all here to do bigger and better things.”
