122010 Commissioners approve funding for Every Womans House
By Sharon Haught
December 11, 2010
270
For spouses and children suffering from domestic abuse, the emergency shelter program operated by Every Womans House can be a lifeline out of a life of fear and into a safe place where the healing process can begin.
Thanks to a resolution passed by the Wayne County Commissioners during their December 8 session Every Womans House has once again been approved as a shelter for victims of domestic violence eligible to receive funds collected from marriage license and divorce filing fees by the county under the requirements of the Ohio Revised Code.
The county has been generous in awarding those funds to Every Womans House over the years, said Every Womans House Executive Director Bobbi Douglas noting that the program has received these much needed funds for over 20 years.
According to Wayne County Budget Director Carol Zemrock, Every Womans House is the only qualifying shelter within Wayne County eligible to receive the approximately $20,000 in funds collected by the county as required by state law.
Now more than ever the funding is critical to Every Womans House fulfilling its mission of providing domestic violence victims with short term emergency housing, support and counseling services as they flee abusive partners.
According to Douglas the funds are greatly appreciated because we have had an increase in the need for the shelter services.
We finished our fiscal year on June 30 and our shelter days were up 12 percent over last year, said Douglas.
This summer was a particularly busy time at the shelter.
We had a run in July, August and September where if we would have kept with those numbers we would have seen an 80 percent increase this year, said Douglas. Its calmed down a bit for October and November but we certainly have seen an increase in the number of people coming into the shelter as well as the days of shelter were providing.
According to Douglas at one point we had 15 women and 25 children mostly under the age of five.
Douglas responded to a question from Commissioner Ann Obrecht about the reason for the summer spike.
People always anticipate that December will be our busiest month and typically it is not. I think families try to hold it together, said Douglas noting that she expects to see an upswing again in January when the holidays dont end up being what they had hoped.
According to Douglas in a typical year Every Womans House provides between 5500 and 6500 shelter days to domestic violence victims. While the organization provided 6200 days of shelter last year, that number has climbed as high as 8800 shelter days in recent years.
Douglas noted that temporary housing for women and children is provided at Every Womans Houses main shelter facility – Julias Place.
We do shelter men but we dont shelter them at the shelter. Typically we would pay for a hotel room and put them up in a hotel and help them leave the community if their safety is in jeopardy, noted Douglas.
The funding provided by the commissioners is a small but important part of the Every Womans House budget. According to their web site the organization receives funding from a variety of public and private sources including the Mental Health and Recovery Board, Wayne County Department of Job and Family Services, the United Way, private foundations, church groups, individuals and the Friends and Neighbors of Every Womans House, a non-for-profit group dedicated to providing financial assistance to the organization.
For more information on Every Womans House, log on to their web site at www.everywomanshouse.org.
