Long-Term Shelter for Battered Women Unveiled

Haven Hills Inc., the San Fernando Valley’s only shelter for battered women, unveiled a new, long-term transitional housing complex Thursday at a Canoga Park-area apartment house that was condemned after the Northridge earthquake and has undergone extensive renovation.

“This is truly a dream come true,” Los Angeles City Councilwoman Laura Chick told about 50 representatives from the city and Haven Hills at a groundbreaking ceremony. “We’re going to have something that is going to be here for the women.”

The $3-million project--scheduled to open at the end of this year--was a joint effort of the city and Haven Hills. Using earthquake rehabilitation funds, the city will cover $1.2 million of the cost, and Haven Hills will pay for the rest with public funds and private donations.

Haven Hills, which will operate the housing project, has run the Valley’s only other transitional home for battered women since 1980 and has long been looking to expand the service. The nonprofit group set its sights on the new location after the building was ravaged by the January 1994 quake, purchasing it with help from the city, said Executive Director Betty Fisher.

After improvements are complete, the 26-unit complex will house up to 30 women, some with as many as seven children, for up to 18 months, Fisher said. Tenants will have use of a playground, counseling services and, at a different location, job training.

Rent, which will range from $269 to $476 a month, will be used to maintain the complex.

Once the complex opens, Chick said, it will be the biggest of a handful of such shelters in Los Angeles and one of just two in the Valley.

“I can’t tell you how much this day means,” Fisher told the crowd at the groundbreaking. ‘I really believe this is going to be the peace that’s going to make the difference in a lot of families and help break the cycle of violence.”

The need for long-term transitional housing became clear years ago when Haven Hills workers started asking clients of its small, 30-day emergency shelter what other help they needed. Fisher said 85% of the women responded that they needed more time to gather their thoughts or look for jobs.

“There’s so much to deal with,” Fisher said, in reference to leaving an abusive relationship. “Thirty days isn’t enough.”

Many women who cannot find jobs or affordable housing within 30 days return to abusive husbands or boyfriends because they cannot afford a place of their own, Fisher said.

She said Haven Hills receives about 300 calls a month from Valley-area women who are in abusive relationships and that many need a place to stay.

The new housing complex, Fisher said, “will bring hope and stability to the women we work with.”