The Beaman Home held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of their parking lot.

WARSAW — A ribbon cutting ceremony was held at the Beaman Home on Parker Street in Warsaw Friday, Aug. 17, to celebrate the completion of the parking lot.

“This was the final step in our construction journey,” said Beaman Home Executive Director Tracie Hodson. 

“The parking lot was made possible by a donation through a will bequest that we were not aware of,” said Hodson. “When it arrived, I contacted the grandchild of the person who had given it and asked if they thought their grandmother would be okay with us using it to complete our parking lot. The response from family members was that they thought it would be a great use of their grandmother’s will.’”

Beaman Home provides services, shelter and support to survivors of domestic violence and/or sexual assault. Their programs include an emergency shelter for those who are fleeing an abusive relationship and have no place safe to go, as well as outreach services for survivors who do not require shelter.

The shelter program is a 45 day program; however, the outreach program may be utilized indefinitely. Someone can go from one program to the other, as needed. Both programs provide case management, assistance with safety planning, including filing for a protective order, and more. Anyone enrolled and actively participating in either the shelter or outreach program has access to support groups, counseling, life skills workshops, recovery coaching, the Basic Needs Center and other services. All services are provided free of charge.

The new Beaman Home Shelter provides 36 emergency shelter beds in 11 resident rooms. Three rooms with five beds are designated for male victims and their children and are located in a separate wing from the female victims and their children. In addition to the resident rooms, the residential wing includes three living rooms, a lending library, a computer lab and laundry facilities.

The crisis hotline (877) 725-9363 and shelter services are available 24/7/365. Their adjacent Outreach Center provides space for the commercial-grade kitchen, dining/great room, children’s activity room, conference room, a counseling room and staff space. The Outreach Center allows Beaman Home to provide support groups, life skills workshops, counseling, children services and more to both residential and non-residential program participants.

In comparison, their former facility had three bedrooms with 13 beds and was located in a 100-year-old single family home on Warsaw’s south side. The house had just under 2,000 square feet of living space.  At that time, Beaman Home was limited to providing primarily shelter only, due to lack of space to expand services.

“While the building is beautiful and we are proud of it, what’s most important is our ability to better meet the needs of our community’s survivors of domestic violence and/or sexual assault,” said Hodson. “The journey from victim to survivor is a long and challenging one which is different for every person who has experienced interpersonal violence.”

“The new Beaman Home, along with our expanded services, allows our trained staff and volunteers to provide a continuum of care which meets victims where they are no matter what leg of the journey they may be on,” Hodson stated.

According to Hodson, the new facility on Parker Street was a $2 million project, which was funded completely by local donors.  

“We couldn’t be more grateful to live in such a generous community,” said Hodson.

The new Beaman Home Shelter provides 36 emergency shelter beds in 11 resident rooms.