In 2016, Dianna Payton stepped into the role of CEO of YWCA Greater Baton Rouge, an affiliate of the national organization dedicated to eliminating racism and empowering women. Along with Payton, the organization welcomed several new board members, all of whom are volunteers, and a resurgence took root.

The leadership team turned their vision and time outward, seeking to fill gaps to meet the needs of women, children and families in the Baton Rouge community.

“From there, we spent our time building out the programming that you see today,” Payton says. “Outside of Early Head Start, every other program within YWCA is brand new.”

These programs include legal and domestic violence services, workforce development and the community bail fund, which assists non-violent, unconvicted offenders to prevent or reduce separation from their children.

In 2024, the organization opened Providence Place Apartments, offering fully furnished long-term housing to women and children as they rebuild their lives after overcoming significant obstacles, such as trauma, loss and domestic violence. “Women are more likely to leave and maintain that separation if you put them in a lovely space and provide a service where their children are in a safe space,” Payton explains, noting that many residents also utilize the wrap-around childcare and maternal support services offered through the Early Head Start program.

“The goal is to make sure that another woman never has to feel as if she has to travel this journey alone. We’ll walk shoulder to shoulder with you. And if you can’t walk, lean on me.”

– Dianna Payton

Continuing to build on its mission, YWCA opened the Women’s Empowerment Center on North Boulevard earlier this year. The light-filled, multi-use facility has been thoughtfully decorated and staffed to offer a holistic approach to mental health care and crisis intervention. “This is a place of beauty and dignity,” Payton says. “Because the delivery of services matters.”

The three-story building serves as a place of refuge for women in crisis as well as a community center where volunteers and other local organizations, including the Power Coalition for Equality and Justice and Set Free Indeed Ministry, host dance classes, art therapy sessions, kids’ camps, parenting courses and more at no cost to attendees.

For Payton, the campus is more than a community resource. It’s the answer to a calling. “Being a survivor, I understand all of the elements that a woman may go through, emotionally, financially, psychologically. When you understand that, it helps you create things that are truly impactful,” she says. “The goal is to make sure that another woman never has to feel as if she has to travel this journey alone. We’ll walk shoulder to shoulder with you. And if you can’t walk, lean on me.”

Whether it’s legal support, help finding employment, a Healing Circle group, or simply a hot shower, everything YWCA of Greater Baton Rouge creates is for women, by women.

Learn more about volunteering at ywca-br.org.