Officials from several Delaware County law enforcement agencies pledged their support Monday for a domestic violence shelter being planned for Delaware.
Delaware County Sheriff Russell Martin, City of Delaware Chief of Police Bruce Pijanowski, City of Powell Chief of Police Gary Vest and Delaware County Prosecutor Carol O’Brien presented a donation check Monday morning to Turning Point, a nonprofit organization that runs a shelter for victims of domestic violence in Marion.
O’Brien said the shelters offer support to victims of domestic violence, men and women, and gives them a safe place to stay when they have no place else to go. The shelters also offer counseling and other support services.
Martin said Delaware County is the largest county in Ohio that doesn’t have a domestic violence shelter and said the county has needed a shelter for years.
O’Brien agreed and said that victims of domestic violence had to travel to Marion if they were in need of a shelter.
The new shelter will be located at a property on 500 N. Liberty St. in Delaware. Paula Roller, the Executive Director of Turning Point, said she hopes to open the new building one year from now.
The Delaware County Criminal Justice Association presented Roller with a $26,000 check Monday and said it’s just the beginning.
Roller added that anonymous donors have pledged to match any donation up to $75,000 by the end of September.
Roller said Turning Point embarked on a campaign to raise $2.3 million to fund the Delaware shelter. Officials say the property and building for the shelter have been purchased, but funds are needed for renovations.
O’Brien reported that one in four women and one in six or seven men are victims of domestic violence. Martin said children of domestic violence have a higher chance repeating that behavior in their relationships and have higher risks of drugs use.
“Hopefully this will help break the cycle,” O’Brien said.
Donations for the shelter can be made on Turning Point’s website.
Additionally, O’Brien said that the proceeds from the Oct. 9 event “Dash at Dusk” will benefit the shelter. This year’s dash will be held in remembrance of Terri Rings, who was killed last year as a result of domestic violence. More information about Dash at Dusk can be found on the Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office Facebook page.