FARMINGTON — Safe Voices, an organization which provides support and advocacy for survivors of domestic violence and human sex trafficking in Franklin, Oxford, and Androscoggin counties, is looking to develop an emergency shelter in Farmington to better serve the needs of individuals in Franklin County.
Currently, Safe Voices operates two emergency shelters in Androscoggin County. This limits their ability to serve people in need as it requires they relocate to a different region when they seek out shelter and protection.
With approximately 1.7 million dollars in federal funding, administered through Maine Housing, Safe Voices is working on an emergency shelter in Farmington. They have also secured Community Development Block Grant funds and American Rescue Plan Act funds from the Franklin County Commissioners, and are seeking additional funds from the town of Farmington.
The development would provide safe and secure emergency housing for four to eight individuals at a time. The project will also include two single bedroom apartments for survivors to rent, allowing a safe living space for a longer period of time. A resource center with computer stations, a food pantry, and meeting spaces for law enforcement and advocates to meet with survivors, makes up the final portion of the development.
“We have a really great community in Farmington and in Franklin County, and we have a really great opportunity for everybody to come together and create this resource for our neighbors,” said Elise Johansen, Executive Director of Safe Voices.
Safe Voices is working with Rescue Rebuild to make the emergency shelter pet-friendly. Survivors may choose to remain in an unsafe situation if the only available options require leaving their pets behind; by making the shelter pet-friendly, it becomes more accessible.
Safe Voices serves hundreds of people in Franklin County each year through a variety of programs. There is a 24-hour helpline, outreach programs for education and public awareness, and a systems of advocates who offer support through every step of the process. Safe Voices helps through the court system and finding long-term housing.
By opening an emergency shelter in Franklin County, they will be able to serve more people in a more holistic manner, and allows survivors to remain in their community.
“Survivors shouldn’t have to have their entire lives uprooted in order to seek safety,” Johansen said. “They should be able to be safe at home and in their own communities.”
The shelter project is expected to be complete and ready for service in late summer or early fall of 2022.
The Maine Department of Public Safety released the 2020 crime report in November 2021. According to that document, domestic violence rates decreased by six percent in 2020; however, calls to domestic violence hotlines did not decrease during that same time frame.
“Sadly, the reduction in calls to law enforcement regarding domestic violence raises more concerns than hopes for the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence. There has been no similar reduction in the numbers of domestic violence victims reaching out to our 24-hour helplines,” said Francine Garland Stark, Executive Director of the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence. “Maine’s Domestic Violence Resource Centers provided critical assistance to more than 11,000 adults in crisis in FY 2021 and calls with survivors were up 13% compared to the previous year. The criminal justice system is an important component of our community’s safety net for adult and child victims of domestic violence, but it is essential that we recognize that effectively intervening and ending domestic violence requires a multi-layered and community-wide approach in which those who believe they can treat their intimate partners and families horribly will be convinced to change their beliefs and abusive behavior, and that those they harm are supported to be safe and secure.”
If someone you know has experienced domestic violence reach out to MCEDV at 1-866-834-HELP (4357) or visit www.mcedv.org. For more information on Safe Voices, visit www.SafeVoices.org.
