At an annual celebration gala Friday night at the Chattahoochee Country Club, officials with Gateway Domestic Violence Center announced a capital campaign to raise money for a new emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence.
Gateway Executive Director Jessica Butler said board members and volunteers have known for several years that the agency needs more space to serve women and children.
"We found out a couple of years ago that the owner of our property needs it back, so we've been quietly making plans over the last few years to acquire a new shelter," Butler said. "We also know that the space we're in right now just isn't large enough to serve our community."
Butler pointed out that the current facility was built some 35 years ago at a time when the local population was 80,278; Hall County is now home to 193,535 people. That growth means more cases of domestic violence - and more women that need a safe place to live.
"We stay full most every night," Butler said. "We've been housing 24 people in a shelter that was built for 15, so it's crowded, it's uncomfortable and we think we can do better to meet the needs of Hall County."
At the gala, agency officials announced that they want to raise $2.5 million for the new shelter - and a good portion is already in hand.
"We were very pleased to announce to the community that we've already raised more than $735,000 in pledges and gifts toward this project, so we're about 30-percent of the way there already," Butler said.
The remainder of the money will come from community donations, according to Butler, and she said they're also hoping the community might help the decision making-process when it comes to buying an existing facility or building a brand new one.
"We're open to both options at this point. We've looked extensively at properties that are already in place and we've also looked at raw land that we could build on," Butler said.
She also noted the campaign is called "Gateway to 2020," since the lease on the current facility expires on December 31, 2020 - and Gateway wants to be out of that building and into a new facility before that date.
