Sheltering Wings Receives Grant to Fund 50%
of Male Domestic Abuse Victims’ Housing Expansion
Sheltering Wings embarking on final push to raise remaining $65,000.
Nonprofit hopes to begin construction Oct. 1, 2019.
DANVILLE, Aug. 28 – United Way of Central Indiana’s Capital Projects Fund, made possible by the generous support of Lilly Endowment Inc. has committed to fund $296,158, 50 percent of the cost to renovate Sheltering Wings’ second story to house male victims of domestic abuse. The Shelter currently serves women and their children. Sheltering Wings hopes to raise an additional $65,000 in order to be able to proceed with the project.
A shelter for victims of domestic abuse, Sheltering Wings has provided housing assistance to male victims for years at outside locations. The new facilities will fill a renovated portion of the main shelter, though male and female residents will still be separate.
Executive Director Cassie Mecklenburg said Sheltering Wings hopes to begin construction October 1, so raising the final $65,000 is critical.
Donations can be made via checks to Sheltering Wings, Attn: Men’s Shelter, PO Box 92, Danville, IN 46122 or online at shelteringwings.org/menshousing.
Background
“Domestic violence is not just a women’s issue,” said Sheltering Wings Board Chair Alyson Lurker. “Nationally, the CDC says one in seven men has experienced severe physical violence from an intimate partner during his lifetime. Here in Hendricks County, Indiana, where we’re located, police went on 68 domestic disturbance runs in 2018 where men were the victims.”
Male residents will have no access to female residential wings and only supervised access to common areas, which are also monitored by security cameras. In addition, Sheltering Wings runs the identity of every person who crosses the shelter’s threshold through abuser alert and sex offender registries to ensure the safety and security of all.
“Our mission hasn’t changed. We’re simply expanding,” said Mecklenburg. “We provide emergency services, teach life skills, address children’s needs and educate people to prevent abuse in the first place. With the support of United Way and other generous people, we will now be able to provide all these services to men in house, too.”
# # #
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Aug. 28, 2019
cmecklenburg@shelteringwings.org
Contact:
Cassie Mecklenburg, Executive Director
Office: 317-386-5052
cmecklenburg@shelteringwings.org
Sheltering Wings gives domestic abuse survivors control over their lives. In a welcoming, Christ-centered environment, we offer crisis/emergency services, life skills, children’s services and abuse prevention/education. Start building a stable, independent life today. You deserve it.
