Author Archives: GreenHouse17 Staff

Our friend Josh Nadzam has qualified for the Boston Marathon. And he’s dedicating his race to survivors of intimate partner abuse. 

Josh’s goal is to raise $2,040 for survivors. That’s $2 a day for every survivor of intimate partner abuse who will find safety and healing at our shelter during the month of the marathon.

This isn’t the first time Josh has run for survivors.

He also qualified for the marathon a few years ago and dedicated his race to our mission. And back in 2014, he ran from Lexington to the capitol in Frankfort to raise awareness and support for legislation to protect victims of intimate partner abuse in dating relationships.

“This cause is so dear to my heart. As a human I feel a responsibility to get involved but as a man, I feel a special duty to step up and act.”

You can cheer Josh on and contribute to his goal by making a contribution at the Bluegrass to Boston for Survivors fundraising page.

If you prefer to make a contribution by check, please include Bluegrass to Boston in the memo and mail to GreenHouse17, PO Box 55190, Lexington, KY 40555.

Image by Mothwing Photography.

Federal designation officially naming our organization a nonprofit entity arrived on February 14, 2005. Each year we celebrate this anniversary with a series of Valentine’s Day cards that you can share with friends, family, and partners on social media to raise awareness about healthy relationships.

Visit our social media pages on February 14 to share these cards with someone special. Or just click or tap on an image below to send one today.

Following early planning meetings with the architect, funders, and construction management team, we began to prepare the shelter for the construction scheduled to begin on January 14.

Commitment to non-interruption of services.

We are committed to continuing operation of the emergency shelter and our 24-Hour Hotline, also housed at the facility, throughout construction. As with any project of this scale, some complications are expected.

Our leadership team has prepared information to notify community partners about changes to shelter accommodations and encourage standard shelter referral procedures during construction. And our community engagement team prepared information to advise supporters.

Readying the shelter for change.

Despite the likely challenges, we are motivated by the possibilities the shelter renovation will create for survivors in our community for many years to come.

Our Executive Director, Darlene Thomas, recently met with survivors living at shelter to gather input, answer questions, and provide assurance of our commitment to their safety and healing during construction.

The next day, shelter staff and residents began moving beds and dressers in the west wing of the facility to common spaces. Design decisions for these temporary bedroom areas considered confidentiality, privacy, comfort, and storage needs of survivors.

Continue reading about the shelter renovation project at this link.

This post is part of a series about the renovation of our emergency shelter.

With plans drawn up and budgets estimated for the project, attention turned to securing funding for construction. Documents were gathered and narratives written to develop our first grant application for support of the shelter improvements.

Meeting community need.

Goals for the renovation of the shelter were closely connected to community needs outlined in the Lexington-Fayette Consolidated Plan, an action plan developed through a participatory process to inform local allocations for funding received through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) formula grant programs.

The decision was made to submit our first application to LFUCG Grants and Special Programs for consideration. Following competitive review of the application and public hearings prior to award confirmations, we received notification of $420,000 received through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program.

Seeking and reviewing bids.

With the guidance of their grant administration team and continued support of EOP Architects, the competitive bid process meeting federal funding could move forward. The contract was awarded to Elaine Allen LLC, a Lexington-based construction management firm with past completed projects for GE, Toyota, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, University of Kentucky, and Cincinnati Zoo.

Meetings with the construction management team quickly began. Meanwhile, our staff worked together on planning to assure continued operation of the emergency shelter and 24-Hour Hotline, also housed at the facility, during construction.

Continue reading about the shelter renovation project at this link.

Kentucky artist Jessica Holly has created a beautiful original silk screen design that we will print on our Holiday Hope Box this season!

Each Hope Box will be
printed with Jessica’s art.

Working with our community is crucial to bringing awareness to intimate partner abuse, and each partnership forged is one step closer to ending intimate partner abuse. By engaging in conversations about the mission, you create the space for those experiencing abuse to step forward and seek safety.

Visit our Handmade by Survivors shop at this link.

This holiday season be a part of the change in supporting survivors by sending or gifting a Holiday Hope Box. Each box gifted directly supports the survivors we serve. 

Corissa Phillips, CFRE
Operations Director

CFRE International has named our Operations Director, Corissa Phillips, a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE).

Individuals granted the CFRE credential have met a series of standards set by CFRE International which include tenure in the profession, education, and demonstrated fundraising achievement.

It requires a rigorous written examination testing the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of a fundraising executive, and recipients agree to uphold Accountability Standards and the Donor Bill of Rights.

“I am proud of the credential’s focus on ethical fundraising practices,” says Corissa. “This certification reflects our organization’s longstanding commitment to accountability in every aspect of our mission to end intimate partner abuse.”

Corissa brings 20 years of nonprofit administration to her grant management, fund development, and communications responsibilities at our organization. She earned her MA degree from the University of Louisville and BFA from Indiana State University. 

The CFRE certification program is accredited by the American National Standards Institute and is the only accredited certification for fundraising professionals. 

Few renovations beyond cosmetic improvements were necessary in 2005 when we moved into the 17,000 sq ft facility previously occupied by Bellewood Presbyterian Home for Children in rural Fayette County.

Considering possibilities.

After several years of providing shelter services from the facility, opportunities to improve the safety, confidentiality, and services for survivors had became apparent. And additional shelter capacity is desperately needed to meet increased demand and changing needs of intimate partner abuse survivors in our community.

The vision for the renovation began three years ago during a shelter visit with staff from EOP Architects, the Lexington-based firm known for the Kentucky International Convention Center Renovation and Rupp Arena Reinvention. With their guidance and professional support, provided in-kind without fees, a plan began to take shape.

Identifying solutions.

Discussions were informed by Building Dignity, a best-practice guide to design strategies for domestic violence shelters. Our conversations explored how our shelter facility influences policies and practices, what survivors and their children find challenging about the facility, and how the building could support our mission more effectively.

The following solutions to challenges were identified.

1.) Increase shelter bed capacity.
2.) Improve safety & confidentiality for adults and children in shelter.
3.) Improve use of shared spaces in the facility. 
4.) Maximize efficiency of staff work spaces.