Community Corner
Laura’s House Breaks Ground on New, Bigger Emergency Shelter
The 7,400-square-foot facility, expected to be finished by January 2012, will nearly double the number of beds for women and children fleeing domestic violence.
Laura’s House, a nonprofit group that serves victims of domestic violence in South Orange County, ceremonially broke ground Thursday on a new emergency shelter that will nearly double the number of beds it offers to women and children fleeing domestic violence.
Community leaders and Laura’s House supporters gathered in Lake Forest outside , the resale store operated by the organization, to celebrate the construction of a new 7,400-square-foot, Spanish-revival-style shelter.
The new facility is being built on the site of its former emergency shelter, which has already been demolished. Laura’s House does not reveal the city where the shelter is located for the safety of the families who stay there.
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“It’s an amazing, momentous day for us,” said Margaret Bayston, executive director of Laura’s House. "It’s a milestone for our organization. We’ve gotten tremendous support from the community.”
In 2010, 269 people, including 152 children, used the emergency shelter run by Laura’s House. The new shelter will increase the number of beds from 28 to 44, Bayston said. In the last year, she said, the shelter at Laura’s House has been consistently full, with a waiting list.
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“We’ve seen a 25 percent increase in women needing services,” Bayston said, noting that hard economic times are a contributing factor. “While it doesn’t cause domestic violence, financial stress exacerbates domestic violence.”
The shelter expansion will also have a big impact countywide, as more than 3,000 women and children enter domestic-violence shelters in Orange County each year. The expansion at Laura’s House increases the countywide capacity for emergency shelters by 15 percent, Bayston said.
“For me, today is so special because I know we’re going to be helping clients change their lives,” said Laura Khouri, board chair at Laura’s House, after the event.
Khouri, who said she herself used an emergency shelter when she was a 17-year-old girl fleeing domestic violence, said that she is excited not only by the increased number of families that the shelter will be able to serve but also because the new facility will be a lovely place for them.
In addition to larger bedrooms and custom-decorated interiors, the facility will have a technology room as well as a secure, open-air courtyard and "healing garden" where children can play safely.
“Not only will clients get the continued goodwill they need to change their lives, they’re going to have it in a beautiful environment,” said Bette Aitken, who is the campaign’s honorary co-chair with her husband, Wylie.
Laura’s House launched a $4.5-million capital campaign to pay for the shelter, as well as to expand its transitional housing facility. To date, just under $3 million of that cost has been raised since September 2010, said Wayne Pinnell, the capital campaign’s chairman. Among the donors was the Joe MacPherson Foundation, which gave a $500,000 gift this month.
During the ceremony, Laura’s House recognized its development partners with hand-painted artwork created by the children of Laura’s House, in appreciation of their contributions. The groundbreaking ceremony was held in partnership with HomeAid Orange County, a nonprofit group that builds and renovates shelters serving Orange County's homeless population.
