Building Community
Professional Women in Building helps create a welcome space for YSS.
December is the season of giving and the time when many businesses are looking for ways to give back to their communities, whether to celebrate the season or to take advantage of tax benefits as the year ends.
The Greater Des Moines HBA’s Professional Women in Building (PWB) members incorporated that seasonal giving into their holiday party, officially kicking off the campaign to transform the dilapidated basement of a downtown building into additional community resource space for YSS, Des Moines’ only homeless center exclusively for youth ages 16–24.
PWB’s Becky Leu of Leu Interiors says, “The work being done here will profoundly affect these young people. We’re excited to help them accomplish that mission.”
Since purchasing the former Iowa State Bank building from the city of Des Moines, YSS has turned the main floor of the facility into a safe place for Des Moines’ homeless young people.
According to YSS Director Lisa Behrends, “Our whole mission is to break the cycle of poverty and help young people go from homelessness to housing.”
Whether young people are in need of food, a shower, clothing, a place to do laundry, or a computer to apply for jobs, they can find help at the YSS drop-in center.
Now, with the help of Professional Women in Building, that welcoming space could double in size.
“We’ve used the basement as a donation center,” says Behrends. “But it’s been underutilized, and it had suffered from years of neglect before we bought the building. Even our staff didn’t like going down there.”
Enter Becky Leu and the members of PWB. A mutual acquaintance connected Leu and Behrends just a few months ago. Within weeks, the PWB had drawn a comprehensive, long-term design plan for the YSS basement in both 2D and 3D.
The organization Dress for Success donates its services to sort clothing donations and help manage inventory at the “store” where young people can choose up to five clothing items per day, from shoes to work attire.
“Knowing that PWB was coming to design a vision for the space, we added lighting down there immediately, and Dress for Success got to work cleaning up the space,” Behrends says. “Even with those small changes—better lighting and reorganizing, we can already better serve our young people. I’m confident that our facility is going to keep improving with this partnership.”
“When we got connected with Lisa, we asked what they needed most,” says Leu. “The first thing she said was that for her clients to feel seen, heard and valued, they need additional lounge space for the young to hang out safely during the day, as well as many other critical resources, which the basement could absolutely house.”
The PWB was just getting started. The main-floor lounge is already in the process of a total makeover, complete with new paint, flooring, and furniture donated by local retailers. Volunteers with PWB recently spent a Saturday repainting the small lounge with fresh, new colors. And designs for finishing the neglected lower level envision something bright and hopeful as well.
“YSS has this incredible building and haven’t been able to utilize the basement, which has over 4,000 square feet of untapped potential,” Leu says. “We’re working with them to design and renovate that space so they can serve even more young people.”
Currently the main level of the building, which houses the drop-in center, includes a kitchen and dining space, a computer room, a large hangout area, and some art studio space. In addition, YSS provides nine emergency beds in small private rooms, which have a long waitlist. If more of the youths’ needs can be met in the proposed basement space, the main floor can potentially provide additional emergency beds.
“We’re still finalizing the design for the lower level,” Leu says. “But our initial plans feature a locker area, a much larger lounge space, additional bathrooms, a wellness center, a flexible classroom space, and an improved donation enter.”
The PWB plan makes efficient use of the existing layout, adding walls to create designated spaces for services like the clothing “store” and a proposed wellness area. Original terrazzo floors and detailed plaster ceilings will be cleaned up and refreshed, walls repainted, and the character of the classic building retained.
“Our intention is to take the project in stages,” says Leu. “We’re waiting on some fundraising efforts before we can really begin the work. And we’re partnering with volunteers and donors for as much labor, materials, and supplies as we can.”
Both Behrends and Leu anticipate the first phase of the project may begin in the spring, but completion will depend on funding and donations.
Leu says, “We’re speaking with architects, engineers, HVAC professionals, plumbers, electricians. We’ve had a great response from everyone that we’ve talked to so far, which is encouraging. Des Moines has such a generous skilled trades community, and the PWB feels fortunate to be able to connect YSS with tradespeople who want to give back however they can. But with limited funds, it’s still a long-term project.”
YSS understands long-range projects. Although the organization’s day-to-day tasks primarily involve meeting the essential needs of Des Moines’ homeless young people, the mentoring and guidance and connections the young people make can change the trajectory of a life.
With determined and warm-hearted partners, change suddenly seems possible.
Get involved!
PWB is seeking partners, materials, and financial donations for the YSS project:
- Flooring
- Plumbing fixtures
- Lighting fixtures
- Hardware
- Paint
- Drywall
- Framing materials
- Trim materials
- Skilled trades of all categories
- Volunteers
For more information contact:
Gabe Tena | gtena@yss.org
Community Engagement Coordinator