Two Fort Wayne non-profits that serve women in the region announced they’re merging Wednesday.
Hope House will now be a division of YWCA Northeast Indiana. The two organizations have complimentary missions - Hope House provides transitional housing for homeless women facing addiction.
The 120-year-old YWCA offers a domestic violence shelter for women in Allen and the surrounding counties.
Debbie Beckman is the President and CEO of YWCA Northeast Indiana. She says more awareness of the issues is creating more demand.
“The need is really extreme," says Beckman. "The past couple years we’ve seen a dramatic increase in our services.”
Beckman says the merger will help streamline office functions like HR and finance, to help put more money towards services.