United Way of Pickaway County safety net partner Haven House is set to open its new location Friday, July 20th with an Open House from 4-6 p.m.
The new location for Pickaway County’s women’s homeless and domestic violence center will be 111 Island Road in Circleville.
“We bought the building in November of 2016,” said Haven House Executive Director Lisa Johnson. “After purchasing the building we came in and cleared it out, cleaned it up, and then started construction.”
As the construction project and move from their previous location comes to a close in the coming weeks, Haven House will be able to offer temporary residency for up to 32 victims of domestic violence and their children and also provide them with a kitchenette, laundry room, and several gathering rooms for family activities and group/individual counseling.
“The building was a perfect fit for us,” said Johnson. [Our new home] was a former doctor’s office. Each one of the exam rooms is now a bedroom. There was some work that we needed to do, but now they are set up as just darling little bedrooms. At project completion we will have a full 32 beds with an additional 4-5 coming in August when we obtain access to the latter third of the building which is being leased out.”
Upon arrival at the new facility, families will receive a duffel bag of donated supplies to get them through their stay as they begin to work with a case manager to process the next steps for their family (pictured below).
From a safety standpoint, Haven House is going from an undisclosed location to a disclosed location – one that now puts it and its work and tenants in the public eye; however, located just minutes from the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office close to State Route 23, the new facility will now be more readily along regular deputy patrol routes in addition to its close proximity to Circleville City Police in town.
While the move for Haven House brings some new changes and opportunities into the fold in support of domestic violence victims, the organization’s philosophy remains unchanged as its staff and support network try to help victims get back on their feet.
“I believe people are born with a toolbox,” said Johnson. “No one, myself included, gets to pick where and how they were brought up to put tools in that toolbox. Our parents help us put tools in that toolbox and some of these people have never had one tool put in their box. That is what we try to do is put tools in their box and giving them the encouragement to do it is also key. There are some that say they cannot do it, but I know they can. There is nothing they cannot do if they put their mind to it. That is what we try to do is fill that toolbox with as many things as we can. When your toolbox is empty you cannot thrive, but when you start throwing those tools in there it is life changing.”
For more information on Haven House visit https://www.havenhouse1180.com/ or to support their initiative through volunteering or via financial means visit pickuw.org.
wayofwayblog.wordpress.com 