Work to start on safe Haven for abused

The 34-bed facility will shelter victims of domestic violence and their children.

By JULIANNE WU

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 10, 2001

CLEARWATER -- For at least six years, the demand for shelter for victims of domestic violence and their children at the Haven has far outweighed the supply.

On Friday, officials of the emergency safe house for battered and abused women and its sponsor, the Clearwater-based Religious Community Services, will take a giant step toward alleviating the problem. They will host a ceremonial groundbreaking to herald the start of construction of a new 34-bed facility in Clearwater.

Because the exact site for the new facility is not being made public for security reasons, the ceremony will be at RCS headquarters, 1855 S. Highland Ave. in Clearwater, said Frieda Widera, the Haven's program operations manager.

Clearwater Mayor Brian Aungst, Largo Mayor Robert Jackson and Pinellas County Commissioner Karen Seel are expected to attend the public ceremony.

Last year, the Haven provided shelter for 387 victims and their children, most of them from northern Pinellas County. But it also had to refer another 280 people to other programs for lack of space at the current 20-bed facility, said Widera, who is also the chairwoman of the Pinellas County Domestic Violence Task Force.

"From those numbers, and the fact there are at least 10,000 police reports of domestic violence in the entire county annually, you can see that we need more shelters," said Widera.

The only other shelter like the Haven in Pinellas County is the 30-bed Center Against Spouse Abuse facility in St. Petersburg. Frank Reiter, the Haven's volunteer media coordinator, said the Haven receives weekly police reports about domestic violence from Tarpon Springs, Clearwater and Largo and the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. "In the northern part of the county, which we serve, the cases account for about 60 percent of the 10,000 reported countywide," he said.

Sgt. Greg Tita, spokesman for the Sheriff's Office, said the agency received reports of 5,747 domestic batteries in 2000. Of those, 5,257 of the victims were women and 490 were men.

Construction of the Haven's new facility comes after more than three years of planning and the receipt of $450,000 in community development block grants from the cities of Clearwater and Largo and from Pinellas County.

Community development block grants from Clearwater and Pinellas County were $200,000 each; Largo's grant was for $50,000.

The cost of the new 34-bed building, which will also have two community rooms, a large kitchen where multiple families can prepare meals, a laundry room and a study, is about $800,000. The contractor is Voeller Construction Inc. of Palm Harbor.

"We are really excited," said Widera. "The significant thing is our current shelter is 5,368 square feet and the new one will be 6,980 square feet."

The Haven directors applied for funds through the cities of Clearwater and Largo and Pinellas County before, but were denied in July 1999.

"I think we were denied then because we weren't exactly ready. This year, everything fell into place," said Widera.

Besides the $450,000 in grants, the Haven has raised another $100,000 on its own and is looking for state grants and private donors to provide additional funds.

The Haven houses female victims of domestic violence and their children for 30 to 45 days at a time, Widera said. They can come more than once, but if the victims need help of a more permanent type, they go into the RCS' transitional living program, where they can live for up to two years.

Widera said in the instances where men are the victims, they are put up in local hotels.

In addition to temporary housing, the Haven has such services as counseling, advocacy, food, clothing, support groups for adults and children, a 24-hour hotline (442-4128) and cellular phones for victims of stalkers. The Haven also trains professional counselors and volunteers.

It is expected the new women's shelter will be ready sometime in September or October, Widera said. Then, the current shelter will become an outreach facility for volunteer training, counseling sessions and office space.

- Information from Times files used in this report.

If you go

A ceremonial groundbreaking for the Haven's new 34-bed shelter is scheduled at 9 a.m. Friday at the Religious Community Services Inc. headquarters, 1855 S. Highland Ave., Clearwater. Officials from Clearwater, Largo and Pinellas County will be present. The public is also invited. For information, call 584-3528.

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