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Springfield’s Family Violence Center is getting a grant of more than 48 thousand dollars for its transitional housing initiative.The idea is to help battered women move from the shelter to an apartment.KSMU’s Ryan Farmer has more.
[Reporter]-"I'm standing on the porch of the Family Violence Center here in Springfield. And there are cameras, bullet proof glass on the windows, and at every entrance to the building it has a security call system. So if someone tries to get in, knocks on the door, a staff member will be alerted and they will come immediately to the door to see who it is."
“We’ve never had an intruder get into the shelter in the 30 years that we have been here. That makes our residents feel very safe.”
That’s Pat Reiser, the President and CEO of the Family Violence Center of Springfield.She’s talking about the immense precautions that the center takes to make sure the residents are safe.Providing a safe environment at the shelter is important because it helps the women feel comfortable when it’s time for them to move out.The grant helps to provide money for the upkeep of a transitional housing complex.It’s a separate apartment location that houses women after they have stayed in shelter for up to 90 days.Reiser says that this transition for the women and children housed at the center is of great importance.
“It gives them a step between the shelter and out on their own. It gives them a lot of support. We have almost a 100 percent success rate of our women coming out of those transitional housing,” says Reiser.
Reiser says that this grant will tangibly change and shape the future for those who benefit from transitional housing. She gives an example of how it has impacted one woman.
“She had been abused for four years, and finally got up the courage to leave, and she was probably the resident that came the farthest that I have seen since I’ve been here. And after 6 months in the apartment, she started to come out of her shell, and when she left us she was able to get an office job. She came back a year later, had dyed her hair red, had some little black rim-horned glasses, and had she been promoted to office manager. These are type of life changing things we can do with money from this grant,” says Reiser.
Reiser says that the center also provides an outreach program for those who wish to seek help, but don’t necessarily need the provisions of the shelter.We have a link to the Family Violence Center on our website, ksmu.org.
For KSMU News, I’m Ryan Farmer.
