Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- YWCA of Utah provides Christmas programs for domestic violence victims.
- Candy Cane Lane offers a pop-up store with free gifts for children.
- The initiative aims to empower women and create holiday joy and normalcy.
SALT LAKE CITY — Staying in one of the YWCA of Utah's shelters does not mean you have to miss the joys of Christmas.
This is true for the women staying in the emergency shelters, but especially for the women and children who are the victims of domestic violence.
Often having to leave their homes in a rush with only a backpack or small bag — if anything at all — to get them through the foreseeable future, these mothers often do not think about the Christmas holidays until they have had a few days to stop and breathe.
At that point, they will wonder how to have a Christmas for their children while away from friends and family. Enter the Candy Cane Lane at the YWCA.
"For any of the women, this is a new Christmas experience for them," said Jakey Siolo, the organizer of Candy Cane Lane. "They're staying in a shelter — a domestic violence shelter — so the Christmas celebrations bring a sense of normalcy and that sense of holiday magic and joy that we all want during the holidays."
Siolo and YWCA volunteers organize a "pop-up store," an area where mothers can walk through a collection of potential Christmas gifts for their children: new footballs, stuffed animals, sweets like chocolate, new bicycles and books for every age, and so much more. These gifts are free for the women, and upon selecting the items, there is also a wrapping station.
It's not Christmas without a visit from Santa, who will make his way to the YWCA the night before the pop-up store opens. The nearly 150 children and teenagers in the shelters will also be able to play some games and earn some prizes. The sons and daughters of these women will have time to earn something that is just for them.
At no point will staff or volunteers tell the women which items to select, how to wrap the gifts, when to give the gifts to their children, anything. Everything will be up to Mom.
"We want to give the moms some autonomy in this," Siolo said. "The parents know what their kids like. And by giving the women this autonomy, it limits saviorism, the idea that we can save this woman. We are not here to save any woman. We want to empower them."
The women and children in the domestic violence shelter have limited opportunities to leave the campus. That is for their own safety. It can cause cabin fever, with the entire family frustrated with being in the shelter.
Mom may also have to deal with complaints from her children who want to go home to the abuser. They may blame her for their life in a shelter without all the things they had at home.
As such, Candy Cane Lane — the pop-up store, the "shopping" for gifts and visit from Santa — gives everyone the chance to experience Christmas during a difficult time. Mom can then have a chance to enjoy the holiday with her children rather than worry about being found, her children's unhappiness and where to go from here. She can just be.
"At the end of the day, I think this gives dignity, hope and joy to everyone," Siolo said. "A lot of families are here, so this is their community, and maybe they've never felt a sense of community before. It doesn't matter what our situation is. We all deserve a magical Christmas."
For more information, visit, ywcautah.org/candy-cane-lane.
