A Safe Place for Women, Children and Families

By Andrea Busboom | [email protected]

Ogden - For more than 69 years, Your Community Connection Family Crisis Center in Ogden has been helping families. It is dedicated to saving and changing lives of individuals and families within the community. The focus is on families in crisis—women or men who have been victims of a domestic violence or sexual assault incident.

Ninety-nine percent of the clients it serves are women and children. Women who are victims of domestic violence have low self-esteem. They have been controlled in the relationship, have had funds taken away or have limited access to money. The YCC has an intake worker on call, around the clock that helps these women into the shelter and keep them safe. 

“We are here to help families. We think Utah is a fantastic place to live; we also want it a safe place to live,” Julee Smith, the executive director of the YCC, said.

The Family Enrichment Center at the YCC is committed to helping families become self-sufficient by providing classes, counseling and other services like getting them connected with outside resources such as LDS Employment Resources and Catholic Community Services.  Half of the clients in the shelter have children. These children also have been affected by domestic violence. The YCC has a day care within the shelter that always has 10 spots open just for clients who come to the shelter and offers separate classes and counseling for them.

The YCC has three sexual assault advocates and a sexual assault therapist on staff, along with several trained volunteers. The Northern Utah Forensic Exam Center (NUFEC) will call the advocates to come out on calls regarding sexual assaults. At any given time they could have as many as 250 clients at a time between them and average between 12 and 20 new victims per month. The advocates will stay with the victim through the whole process of their case. They attend court, help with obtaining a protective order or help them with resources to get through this difficult time.  

Your Community Connection Crisis Center is nonprofit and is sustained by community donations, grants and fundraisers. It will be hosting its sixth annual Western Night Gala, March 17 at Timbermine Steakhouse, located at 1701 Park Blvd. in Ogden. STAMPEDE will be performing from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. to start off the night with a social. Silent auction items will be available at this time to bid on. The event will continue with a domestic violence survivor speaker, dinner provided by Timbermine and a presentation by Smith. Menu choices include ribeye steak, barbecue chicken, salmon or vegetarian.

All proceeds from YCC’s Western Night Gala will go directly to YCC to assist in continuing its critical mission of providing comprehensive services to support and enhance the quality of life for families in Weber and Morgan counties. YCC, located in the heart of Ogden, is Saving and Changing Lives in our community every day.

Tickets are on sale now to the community for $75 per person or $700 per table. YCC is looking for sponsors and auction item donations. For more information about purchasing tickets, sponsorship or donations, contact Kelsey Askea at 801-689-1706 or via email at [email protected].