Happy times for Harriet’s House

Published 12:00 am Friday, August 26, 2005

REGION- The funding continues to flow from government as Harriet’s House, a temporary shelter for victims of domestic violence, has received a $101,259 grant.

The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, or ADECA, will administer the grant which is courtesy of funds provided to Alabama by the U.S. Department of Justice.

According to Susanna Naisbett, executive director of Harriet’s House, the grant is about six percent less than what the shelter received last year.

Email newsletter signup

“Last year we got $107,722,” Naisbett said.

Naisbett said the money will be used primarily to pay the salaries of Harriet’s House employees.

Harriet’s House provides completely free services, including a crisis hotline, a weekly support group and a 16-bed shelter in Marengo County.

She said there will be about $1,000 left to help offset the mileage costs for transporting victims “to and from their apartments, school and anywhere else they need to go.”

The shelter supports victims from Choctaw, Clarke, Greene, Marengo and Sumter counties and according to Naisbett many of them don’t come to the shelter with transportation.

The grant requires a 20 percent hard cash match, which

equals a total of $25,31.75

“They give us 101 and we have to make sure we have 25,” Naisbett said. “We always make the match. If I had doubt we couldn’t match it, we wouldn’t apply for the grant.”

Although on Thursday, Harriet’s House provided for only 3 women and 5 children, Naisbett said they had 13 people in the shelter Tuesday.

The shelter is always accepting donations from the community.

Harriet’s House is a 501 C 3 non-profit organization, which means all donations are tax deductible.

If you wish to contribute to Harriet’s House, you can contact a representative at 334-289-8988 for a drop-off point, or to arrange meeting or pickup times.

Monetary donations can be sent to Harriet’s House, P.O. Box 569, Demopolis, AL 36732.