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Crisis center grows to accommodate clients
By Michele Sample
An 8,000-square-foot emergency shelter is under construction for The Women’s Crisis and Family Outreach Center.
The mission of the center is dedicated to reducing domestic violence and family conflict through advocacy, empowerment, violence prevention and intervention, services and education.
“We have the foundation down and three or four walls up,” Renee Forsythe, community outreach for the center said. The land was gifted for the project by Douglas County and due to the protection of the clients, the address is not divulged.
With the completion of the new center, bed space will go from 12 to 28 and the overall capacity to house victims and their families fleeing the atrocities of domestic violence is expected to more than double, from 150 to 350. The current space now for the center is 2000-square-feet. The project will include the addition of six bathrooms, compared to two, and group rooms, therapy rooms and play areas for children.
“Domestic violence could be why people are here,” emergency center executive director Jennifer Walker said. “But they may need help with their children or finding a job as well.” One client recently came to the center with her teeth knocked out, and Walker said they helped her find a dentist to donate dentures.
“She obviously couldn’t find a job that way,” Walker said. Another donated business contributor for the center includes a hair color analyst, who offers free hair cuts and styles.
“When you have never had someone care about you, that is life changing,” Walker said. “Sometimes it is little things like that we take care of.”
Forsythe said it is not only women and children that are cared for at the center, but the aging population and men as well.
“We have found that the elderly have been under served, and there is a spike in need of services,” Forsythe added.
Last year, the center provided direct services to 10,000 victims and served another 4,300 through training and seminars on issues surrounding domestic violence. Services include a 24-hour crisis line, emergency shelter, therapy, legal advocacy, parenting classes and community outreach including a violence prevention initiative to at-risk students within the Douglas County School System.
The center also supplies food, clothing and other daily essentials to clients of Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties in need, utilizing 85 percent of the center’s annual income.
According to Walker, $450,000 is still needed to complete the construction of the center.
“We’ve raised more than 75 percent,” Walker said. “It is a $2.3 million project, and we are right around $1.8 million.”
The 24-hour crisis line is 303-688-8484.
For more information, contact Renee Forsythe at rforsythe@twcfoc.org or call 303-688-1094.
The mission of the center is dedicated to reducing domestic violence and family conflict through advocacy, empowerment, violence prevention and intervention, services and education.
“We have the foundation down and three or four walls up,” Renee Forsythe, community outreach for the center said. The land was gifted for the project by Douglas County and due to the protection of the clients, the address is not divulged.
With the completion of the new center, bed space will go from 12 to 28 and the overall capacity to house victims and their families fleeing the atrocities of domestic violence is expected to more than double, from 150 to 350. The current space now for the center is 2000-square-feet. The project will include the addition of six bathrooms, compared to two, and group rooms, therapy rooms and play areas for children.
“Domestic violence could be why people are here,” emergency center executive director Jennifer Walker said. “But they may need help with their children or finding a job as well.” One client recently came to the center with her teeth knocked out, and Walker said they helped her find a dentist to donate dentures.
“She obviously couldn’t find a job that way,” Walker said. Another donated business contributor for the center includes a hair color analyst, who offers free hair cuts and styles.
“When you have never had someone care about you, that is life changing,” Walker said. “Sometimes it is little things like that we take care of.”
Forsythe said it is not only women and children that are cared for at the center, but the aging population and men as well.
“We have found that the elderly have been under served, and there is a spike in need of services,” Forsythe added.
Last year, the center provided direct services to 10,000 victims and served another 4,300 through training and seminars on issues surrounding domestic violence. Services include a 24-hour crisis line, emergency shelter, therapy, legal advocacy, parenting classes and community outreach including a violence prevention initiative to at-risk students within the Douglas County School System.
The center also supplies food, clothing and other daily essentials to clients of Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties in need, utilizing 85 percent of the center’s annual income.
According to Walker, $450,000 is still needed to complete the construction of the center.
“We’ve raised more than 75 percent,” Walker said. “It is a $2.3 million project, and we are right around $1.8 million.”
The 24-hour crisis line is 303-688-8484.
For more information, contact Renee Forsythe at rforsythe@twcfoc.org or call 303-688-1094.
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CR_LW wrote on Jul 10, 2009 9:35 PM:
Douglas County Citizen and contributor to WCFOC. "