THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 16, 1994 TAG: 9410130203
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Long : 104 lines
BATTERED WOMEN hoping to find help at Outer Banks Hotline crisis intervention center often changed their minds when they saw the shelter, executive director Lynn Bryant said last week.
The floor was warped and crumbling. Cots were stacked in storerooms. Sewer gas sometimes wafted into the old building through ancient vents.
``I felt almost embarrassed that people had to stay in that place,'' said Bryant, who helped found Hotline 12 years ago on Roanoke Island. ``A lot of people who really needed to be here just wouldn't stay because it was so bad.''
After Nov. 1, people who come to stay at Hotline's new shelter may never want to leave.
Two-and-a-half times more spacious than the former building, it includes a 5-bedroom shelter, enclosed play area, full kitchen, laundry room, meeting space, a library reference room and television lounge. Hotline offices are in an adjoining wing. And the huge new thrift shop connects through an organized sorting room where donations are cleaned and classified.
Everything in the building is bright and new. The shelter has a raised roof and spinning white ceiling fan. Each bedroom will be furnished for a family - with bunk beds, a regular bed, and shelves. Two families - or shelter residents from two rooms - share a large bathroom with tub and two sinks. Lavender carpet, turquoise counter tops and sand-colored tile add color and pizzazz.
``We haven't built the Taj Mahal,'' Hotline resource development coordinator Kirsten Justice said from inside the almost-completed building. ``But we have added some dignity to this place for the people who will stay and work here.''
About 6,600 square feet in all, Hotline's new home is scheduled for a grand opening early next month. Employees hadn't planned to move into their new building so soon. But when the old one that shared the site was demolished three weeks ago, they had nowhere else to go.
``None of our services were suspended,'' Justice said. ``The shelter won't be ready until Nov. 1. But we're putting women up in motels now. And we're still running the 24-hour crisis hotline, domestic violence and sexual assault counseling services, and, of course, the thrift shop is still open six days a week.''
The $571,000 project was funded partially with grants, partially with thrift shop proceeds, and primarily with private donations.
In all, about $250,000 was received in gifts - mostly in $20 to $30 checks.
``This place has a powerful sense of community about it,'' said Bryant, who has 28 typed pages of names of individual donors. ``We didn't get the corporate sponsorship we'd hoped for. But this place was really built by the people of Dare County - one little check at a time.''
North Carolina Power provided the largest single contribution when officials donated about $30,000 worth of labor and supplies to upgrade Hotline's energy efficiency. Not only was the work free, but it will help the non-profit agency continue saving in the future as electric bills remain lower than average.
Besides altering its appearance - and improving the employees' outlooks - Hotline's new home will bring changes in program offerings.
Justice said a live-in ``Shelter Mother'' will supervise the residents 24 hours a day. She and other Hotline administrators will teach job seminars, provide domestic violence treatment, teach parenting classes and give general counseling.
``We need to help some of these women build their self-esteem by helping them earn their own paychecks,'' Justice said. ``It will be a very structured environment and a good place for people to find support.''
In the former building, children had to play in a small, fenced, outdoor area.
The new shelter will include a large, well-groomed outdoor playground, surrounded by a 10-foot wooden fence. Jungle gyms, slides, swings, a sand box and other attractions all will be funded through a $19,000 grant from the Ronald McDonald Foundation.
``We work, figuratively, in the trenches because of what we do,'' Justice said. ``Now, at least, we don't have to work literally in them, too.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DREW C. WILSON
Hotline volunteers Butch Wood assembles a clothing rack while
Annemarie Kline steams clothing donated to the battered women's
shelter.
THE HOTLINE
Outer Banks Hotline moved into its new 6,600-square-foot Manteo
home about three weeks ago. Dedication is scheduled for Nov. 4. The
parking lot should be completed by this weekend.
In the meantime, Hotline's new, enlarged and improved thrift shop
is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. six days a week on U.S. Route 64/264.
Halloween costumes, cards, games, furniture, lamps and other items
are for sale. All proceeds help pay for the non-profit crisis
intervention agency.
Last year, Hotline sheltered 294 women and 484 children. Nearly
700 women who did not stay at the shelter received counseling,
referral and emergency assistance. Another 15,000 people called the
24-hour crisis line.
Hotline is funded entirely by donations. For more information,
call (919) 473-3366. Contributions can be mailed to P.O. Box 1417,
Manteo, N.C. 27954.
by CNB