An Illinois nonprofit is opening a 40-bed shelter in Kewanee, marking one of the largest investments in domestic violence victim services in north-central Illinois in decades. That’s according to Freedom House's Outreach and Facilities Manager Trisha Schafer.
“So research consistently shows that access to nearby shelter services significantly reduces the risk of serious injury and even homicide. And Henry and Stark Counties, you know, Stark being smaller and just south of Henry County. Their residents account for nearly half of the survivors that Freedom House serves.
"So for many families, traveling to our Princeton shelter would mean leaving a job, leaving schools, different child care, maybe leaving their support systems and their relatives," Schafer said. "And so this new shelter really does remove those barriers, and we're very confident that we're going to see a lot of survivors being able to seek shelter and move on to their new beginning.”
The shelter is operating in a former medical office in Kewanee and will now provide shelter and services to Illinoisans escaping domestic and sexual violence.
Schafer said the $2.5 million renovation of the former OSF Healthcare office on Elliott Street will provide private family accommodations, a play area, communal living and dining, and enhanced security.
"It was a lot of doctors' offices, so those tend to have just the small sinks in every office. And we needed showers and washing machines and things like that. So we had to do everything, completely do the insides. We had to change windows. We had to put a new roof on it, the parking lot, and the driveway," Schafer said.
The shelter is funded by private donors, including the Geneseo Foundation. Other donors include Daryl Becker and Cyndee Kenney; Francis G. & Betty J. Miller Foundation; OSF HealthCare for the donation of this former medical building; The Gary and Barbara Roush Family; and the State Bank of Toulon.
This is the organization’s second shelter. It also runs a 28-bed domestic violence shelter in Princeton.
"The one great thing about, and that's unlike many facilities, is that the families at the new Kewanee shelter will have private sleeping accommodations, in suite bathrooms, which here in Princeton they do have to share a bathroom with every 2 rooms shares a bathroom here," Schafer said. "We were able to do all that new construction, made it more private for them, a little bit more privacy, dignity, and, just thinking of being trauma-informed and, letting them come and relax and move forward with their new beginning."
The nonprofit also provides counseling services, substance-use recovery, and legal aid. A ribbon-cutting for the new shelter in Kewanee was held on Wednesday, July 15th.
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