Terry McNamee
Special to the Beaver
With only 10 of its 18 beds funded by the provincial government, the Lennox and Addington Interval House shelter depends heavily on donations from the community to keep offering sanctuary to women fleeing domestic violence.
On Friday, Feb. 28, the facility received a big financial boost with a donation of $11,525 from 100+ Women Who Care Lennox and Addington County, an all-female service group whose sole purpose is to raise money for local causes.
“It’s a great donation,” said Interval House representative Sue Weir. “We have eight unfunded beds that we rely on the community to support. We operate close to capacity.”
The shelter, which opened in Napanee in 1992, provides safe haven, transitional housing and trained staff who provide crisis intervention, safety planning and supportive counselling for abused women and their children. Weir said that many of the women who seek shelter at Interval House arrive with little more than the clothes they are wearing, and need to be supplied with even the most basic of necessities.
The L&A 100+ Women organization was founded in June 2016 and raises money strictly through its members’ donations.
“We have individual members and team members,” explained representative Barb Delaney. “We have four meetings a year. Each member donates $100 and each team donates $100 (at each meeting). We’ve given away approximately $187,000 over 16 meetings.”
At each meeting, each member submits the name of a community group she feels would be a worthy recipient of that meeting’s donation. The names of three groups are drawn at random, and the person who proposed each one does a presentation about that group. Then members vote on which of the three will receive the money.
“Once a charity has received a donation, they have to wait two years to be eligible again,” Delaney said.
New members are welcome, and more information is available on-line at www.100womenlennoxaddington.ca
Women who need shelter from an abusive situation can find more information by calling 613-354-1010 or going to the web site at www.intervalhousenapanee.ca
If you are in crisis and need help, call the 24-hour hotline at 1-800-667-1010. If you are in immediate danger, call 9-1-1 or go to the nearest police station.