When the Pueblo chapter of the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) moved into its new home in 1935, the organization received the same favor it offered to the homeless, the jobless, and the luckless: the chance to make a fresh start.

A flood had destroyed Pueblo’s original YWCA building in 1921, and the agency spent the intervening years residing in makeshift quarters. Though its new facility opened at the height of the Great Depression, it bore the cheerful demeanor of a Mediterranean estate, with textured stucco on the walls and red clay tiles adorning the gabled roof. Here, women in need could take their first steps toward self-sufficiency. “These girls do not want charity,” one flyer said. “They want work.” The YWCA helped them find it, offering job-training and -placement services along with food and shelter. After World War II it helped “war brides” get back onto their feet, and for the last several decades it has provided safe haven to victims of domestic abuse.

The years took their toll on the Pueblo YWCA building, and by the mid-1990s it stood in need of a thorough rehabilitation. But for an organization so dedicated to fresh starts, that posed little problem. Now fully restored, the Y continues to represent opportunity for the homeless, the jobless, and the luckless.