Independence House, a domestic violence center on Cape Cod, plans to build a new facility in Barnstable to provide more space for counseling, a food pantry, and other programming.
The old building does not have enough space and is not fully accessible, said Lysetta Hurge-Putnam, executive director.
“This award is momentous and transformative for us,” she said.
She said the new space will allow them to better serve the 7,000 survivors of domestic and sexual violence the center helps each year.
“We will have a beautifully developed, mentally and culturally appropriate area dedicated to children and teens, and a multipurpose room for various therapeutic activities,” she said. “We will have an upgraded food pantry on site, and hopefully reduced energy bills.”
Independence House provides around-the-clock crisis response, along with emergency housing, court advocacy, and preventative education. It operates a 24-hour hotline at 800-439-6507.
The organization has received a $3.46 million federal grant for the building.
Congressman Bill Keating met with the staff and board Thursday to announce the funding.
Barnstable County Sheriff Donna Buckley and Cape and Islands District Attorney Robert Galibois attended the event and spoke about how their offices will address domestic and sexual violence.
Buckley said she wants to help survivors to connect to resources in the community.
“We can have a female inmate who's in on a drug charge, whose underlying trauma is domestic violence,” she said. “If we use the data that we collect and make those connections with each and every case that comes through, we can start to break the cycle.”
Hurge-Putnam said it’s hard to know precisely how many people on Cape Cod are affected by domestic violence, because data from nonprofits, police and the district attorney are not integrated.
“Domestic violence survivors enter through many doors,” she said.
The new building could be complete within a year, depending on contractor schedules, she said.
