MEDINA, Ohio — A Medina building has been years in the works, and now is just months from opening.
"There's 10 bedrooms," Stephannie Garrett, CFO of Hope & Healing, said of the space. "We have two beds, we have bunk beds, and we have four adjoining rooms."
From five bedrooms to 10, the Hope & Healing Battered Women's Shelter is doubling its in-house capacity. It's something the group knows is needed in Medina County after the building had been fully closed for three years, and services don't stop there.
"Our court advocacy, our group therapy, our support groups will be able to run out of this facility here," Garrett said.
It's all about expanding reach and helping more people, and officials have seen a need coming out of the pandemic.
"We know there's people out there that we haven't been able to reach," Garrett explained. "So, having this facility, having the great meeting room and support group room we'll have, that will be available to the community will definitely impact our ability to reach the people who need it most."
Hope & Healing is now getting to the point where they are asking for donations off this wish list available on their website, and any volunteers willing to put together furniture, help with landscaping, and more can know it's all going into a place where women can feel safe and secure.
"We'll have a pretty robust security system," Garrett said, "so we should know if anyone is coming or going here and only let those in who should be here."
Besides Medina, Hope & Healing also operates a pair of locations in Akron.