Kansas City, Mo. – The only domestic violence shelter in Johnson County is relocating and renovating its facilities. KCUR's Kelley Weiss reports.
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SAFEHOME, a shelter for domestic violence victims in Johnson County, is moving into a former hotel to expand its services. The shelter's almost $6 million capital campaign will fund renovations to the new location that eventually will have sixty beds, twice as many as the old facility, with private rooms and bathrooms for guests. Sharon Katz, SAFEHOME's executive director, says since there is only one domestic violence shelter in Johnson County it's essential to move to a bigger location with more privacy and services for victims.
Sharon Katz: "Johnson County has domestic violence. A lot of people don't know about it or want to know about it but it certainly exists. We need to have a safe place for today and for the future, that's what we're doing we're building for the future."
The new shelter is slated to open at the end of this summer and will house a computer lab, meditation room and counseling, medical and childcare services for domestic violence victims.