'The Minot Domestic Violence Crisis Center has received a $400,000 grant from the Otto Bremer Foundation for the first phase of its plan to construct an office and four-plex apartment building at a site directly east of the Jefferson Early Childhoold Center. The office and four-plex will be ready for occupancy by December.
Dena Filler, director of the center, said the grant will help fulfill her longtime dream of having the services provided to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault at one site, working closely together. She wanted a location within the city limits and one that would provide a good location for expansion. Filler said some parents receiving services also have children in Head Start, so the site's proximity to Jefferson, which has Head Start classrooms, is a real asset.
The Otto Bremer Foundation rarely gives a grant greater than $30,000, according to officials, so Filler said this is a sign of the trust that the Bremer Foundation has in the Domestic Violence Crisis Center. The Bremer Foundation notified Filler of the grant in May. Bremer officials wanted to get money into Minot before the first anniversary of last year's catastrophic flood.
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Andrea Johnson/MDN
Dena Filler, Minot Domestic Violence Crisis Center, and Brent Mattson, of the Otto Bremer Foundation, hold a check for $400,000. The Bremer Foundation awarded the Domestic Violence Crisis Center a grant to build a new office and transitional living apartment buildings at a site near Jefferson Early Childhood Center.
Filler is already seeking funding for Phase 2 of the project, which will include a women's shelter, another four-plex transitional living apartment building and a playground for children.
Filler said Phase I will include office space for the Domestic Violence Crisis Center and a four-unit transitional living apartment building.
Each apartment will have two bedrooms and people will be able to stay there from 18 months to two years and will be charged rent based on their income. People with no income will be charged a nominal rent until they can get a job.
The site will have video cameras and extra security to ensure the safety of staff and clients.
Filler said the center currently has been housing domestic violence victims at the shelter, which is less than ideal. There is increased demand for services due to the increased population in Minot and that means the center must sometimes house multiple families in one room at the shelter. It is also hard to find affordable housing in Minot and the center lost its old transitional housing in last summer's flood. The Bremer Grant will enable the Domestic Violence Crisis Center to better serve its clients.