Adams Radio Group Listeners Care

It's the Holiday Season, and that means that NIPSCO and Adams Radio Group are partnering up again to make a meaningful difference in the communities in which we all live! Please join their efforts by giving what you can to help rescue a family from a life of abuse this Christmas.

We need YOUR help in this public health emergency of domestic violence in which every 9 seconds a woman is beaten or assaulted and at least three women are murdered daily by an intimate partner. But this issue has only gotten worse over the past year with domestic violence homicides increasing by more than181%. Domestic violence does not discriminate based on gender, socioeconomic status or geographic area, more than 95% of the clients and children we serve live well below the poverty line and originate from the most impoverished areas of Northwest Indiana.

 

WHAT WE DO

St. Jude House, located in Crown Point, Indiana, is a Family Violence Prevention Center and Emergency Shelter. An anchor in the community, it provides safe haven, basic needs, resources and comprehensive services to victims of domestic violence and their dependent children fleeing the danger and trauma of domestic violence. In addition to its 40-bed homelike shelter, St. Jude House offers a 24/7 crisis hotline; crisis intervention; case management that includes employment, education, transportation and housing advocacy; legal advocacy; support groups; parenting classes; life skills training; financial empowerment programing with an entrepreneurship track (that has sparked new business ideas right in our shelter!); and specialized services for children – all at no cost to the families who are rebuilding their lives and working toward self- sufficiency and a life free from abuse.

 

Since opening our doors in 1995, we have provided emergency shelter and comprehensive residential and non-residential services to more than 14,000 men, women and children. The shelter serves an average of 550 clients annually. St. Jude House operates in the second largest of 92 Indiana counties and was the only domestic violence shelter in Northwest Indiana to keep its doors open during the global pandemic.

 

Our goal is to empower our clients through our comprehensive and compassionate programming and services to leave behind a life of domestic abuse. Each client’s length of stay varies, with some facing barriers such as housing, employment and transportation in order to secure a home free from abuse. The average length of stay is currently 33 days.

 

Our entire direct services team leads with a trauma-informed care approach: Our Legal Advocate assists with child-custody, protective orders and leads our financial empowerment classes; our Child Advocate helps with homework and enrolls children in their new school, and also unpacks the trauma of abuse via therapeutic play and explorative art projects; our Adult Advocate leads several support groups, explores trauma history and identifies specific counseling needs; while our Case Manager helps with housing, employment and transportation.

 

Sadly, domestic violence continues to impact the bottom line of local companies with 8 million days of paid work being lost every year and a cost of $8.3 billion in expenses annually to U.S. businesses. ($5.8 billion in higher medical costs and $2.5 billion in lost productivity.)

 

The fact of the matter is there are people in your world RIGHT NOW who have been or are impacted by domestic violence RIGHT NOW. 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men will be impacted by domestic violence in some form during their lifetime.

 

And St. Jude House stands in the gap between life and death for victims of domestic violence and their children, all at no cost. That’s why support from people like your is so very important!

 

Thank you for walking our mission with us! Please come for a tour of the shelter to see the impact of your giving by contacting Buffy, Director of Development, at St. Jude House today!