Beatitude House teams up with Trumbull women's shelters

Staff report

WARREN

Beatitude House is collaborating with Someplace Safe and Solace Center, Trumbull County’s domestic-violence programs, to meet the ongoing needs of women and children in Beatitude’s Warren transitional housing facility.

Beginning this month, Someplace Safe assumed ownership of Beatitude House’s A House of Blessing in Warren. All current clients have been relocated to a similar program with safe, affordable housing in accordance with the missions of both organizations.

“The relationship we have with Beatitude House has enabled us over the past year to expand our programming; and the move to the current Beatitude House site will allow us to double our capacity to provide temporary, emergency shelter and needed services for adults and children experiencing domestic violence in Trumbull County,” said Bonnie Wilson, director of Someplace Safe.

In 2016, Beatitude House was one of three area agencies to experience a cut in its federal HUD spending for transitional housing, a $214,000 per year loss for the organization. In response, Beatitude House immediately began exploring how it could maintain services to its clients who were in need of transitional housing, said Teresa Boyce, acting director of Beatitude House.

In 2017, Beatitude House in Warren provided transitional housing for 29 homeless families, 24 of whom reported domestic violence as a reason for seeking assistance. Since most of the clients at the Warren facility also have used the services of Someplace Safe, the partnership between the two organizations is a natural one. For more than a year, Someplace Safe has conducted domestic-violence support group sessions at Beatitude House’s A House of Blessing in Warren, Boyce said.

“We’re committed to maintaining a presence in Trumbull County with our Ursuline Sisters Scholars Program, which provides financial support and one-on-one mentoring. By creating homes, providing educational opportunities and fostering healthy families, Beatitude House provides homeless and low-income women the opportunity to move out of poverty and transform their lives,” Boyce said.

For information about Beatitude House, visit www.beatitudehouse.com or call 330-744-3147. For information about Someplace Safe, a program of Family & Community Services Inc., visit fcsserves.org or call 330-297-7027.