Heck, yeah!

Violence victims gain a foothold

By AIXA M. PASCUAL
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/04/06

The apartments tucked among homes near downtown Canton look like so many other rock-and-brick complexes in metro Atlanta. But the entrance has no signs. There are no balloons. The leasing office is nowhere in sight.

The 72-unit complex is exclusively for victims of domestic violence. It grew out of a public-private partnership formed by a developer, a nonprofit and a state agency. Victims of domestic violence live in about eight other transitional housing programs in Georgia, but the one in Canton is the largest by far.

"Canton has really created a very innovative model," said Nancy Grigsby, executive director of the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, a nonprofit association of domestic violence shelters. "We could use a lot more programs like this."

Beverly Whitfield, 52, said she would be "living in my car" if not for the complex.

After suffering abuse, she said, she went to a shelter, but had nowhere to go afterward. She slept for two days in her car in a Wal-Mart parking lot. She had no job or furniture when she moved in last year.

Now she has a furnished apartment and a part-time job cleaning houses. She has furnished her two-bedroom apartment with a small bed, a pair of black leather sofas and a dining room set she bought at a store in the complex with "bonus bucks" she earned by attending classes and support groups.

"In this place I have become my own woman," she said. "Nobody will ever put their hands on me again."

The women at the apartments usually come through referrals by shelters, courts, state agencies or friends. They can live there for up to three years. They go through phases as they take classes, get jobs and meet goals.

Cherokee County Juvenile Court Judge John Sumner said that in court he's seen women who live at the complex improve their lives. "If it weren't for these apartments they'd be homeless or living in substandard housing," Sumner said.

Built at a cost of $7.1 million, the apartments are the product of a three-way partnership of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs; Alpharetta-based NuRock Cos., a developer of apartment units; and the nonprofit Cherokee Family Violence Center. The community-affairs department paid for the construction through federal loans and low-income tax credits. They're providing 56 vouchers to make the rentals affordable to women with limited means.

The Canton development is trying to fill a gap for victims who have nowhere to go after they leave a home or shelter. They attend classes in self-awareness and personal finance, go to support groups and meet with a case manager twice a month.

"Most victims of domestic violence are left on their own after leaving a shelter," said Grigsby.

"For many domestic violence victims in Georgia, poverty and housing are major obstacles to being safe. This addresses a major barrier for battered women and their kids."

The community has a free after-school program for children that offers many amenities, such as swimming, movies, board games and assistance with homework. About 30 kids participate.

Sharde Beatty, who manages the program, said the place provides a distraction for kids.

"Their home lives aren't that satisfying," Sharde Beatty said.

"A lot of them don't get a chance to be a kid."

The apartments provide a temporary home for Tonessa Jones, 36, and her four kids, ages 2 to 13. "This is heaven for me," she said Thursday. "I love it."