About $71,000 in tax credits are still available to help Hope Unlimited build a new shelter to help victims of violence and abuse.
The tax credits will be available until the end of the year and represent less than half of the $200,000 granted by the Kansas Department of Revenue’s Community Service Tax Credit Program.
Those who donate more than $250 to the shelter can claim 70% of the donation as a tax credit.
“If you know you are going to have to pay state taxes, why not give to a local charity for a capital improvement project?” Dorothy Sparks, executive director of Hope Unlimited, said.
A fundraising campaign for the shelter kicked off in April and has so far collected about $500,000, Sparks said. That includes promised donations from area counties served by Hope Unlimited — Allen, Anderson, Neosho and Woodson counties.
“We feel really good about where we are but we still need to raise more,” Sparks said. “Any donation helps.”
The goal is to build a new shelter, more than doubling the current space with room to grow to meet the needs of victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
It is expected to cost about $3 million.
Funding will come from the tax credits, grants and donations — both from corporate sources and individuals — and from participating governments.
Sparks said the organization has applied for a grant to help with construction, but won’t know if they are successful until November.
HOPE UNLIMITED began in 1984 to help victims of domestic violence and abuse, with board members offering their own homes as a safe space. The first shelter followed a couple of years later.
About 10 years ago, Hope Unlimited moved its shelter into its current two-story house. It can accommodate 18 if the parents and children share rooms.
Organizers already realized they needed a larger shelter when the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 pushed the issue to the forefront.
“COVID taught us we can’t share space effectively,” Sparks said.
Families, especially those with children, need their own space and private restrooms. Typically, children outnumber adults at the shelter, Sparks said. Most victims of domestic violence are women, particularly those with children.
Although men are also victims, it’s less common that men will seek shelter. But the new facility could accommodate them as well, Sparks said.
An architect continues to develop plans for the shelter. Sparks said a goal is to have 10 private rooms that could house up to 25, including children. The rooms will include microwaves and mini-refrigerators to allow those families to be more self-sufficient.
The shelter will also include shared spaces such as a large kitchen and a place for children to do homework and access computers and the internet.
“When COVID came around, we were trying to do school in the shelter by Zoom. It was very challenging,” Sparks said.
A long-term goal is to build a childcare center on site. Child care is a huge barrier to employment. Having a center on site will make it easier for parents to work and also will make it easier for the children, who won’t have to leave the area.
“It provides continuity, which is important for children whose lives are in the middle of upheaval,” Sparks said.
THE GOAL is to break ground on the shelter in 2024.
Construction is expected to take about a year.
For more information or to donate, call Sparks or Donita Garner at 620-365-2016.
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