POULSBO — First Federal Community Foundation has awarded a grant for $25,000 for construction of Morrow Manor, eight units of affordable housing for domestic violence survivors and their families.

The Morrow Manor project is a collaboration between the Poulsbo-North Kitsap Rotary Club and YWCA Kitsap County. For nearly 20 years, the two organizations have worked together to support domestic violence victims and survivors.

Morrow Manor will triple the YWCA’s housing portfolio within Kitsap County, where one in four women have experienced domestic violence, according to the YWCA. Kitsap County’s 911 call center receives a call related to domestic violence on average once every 90 minutes.

Domestic violence is one of the leading causes of homelessness, in part because 98 percent of domestic violence cases include financial abuse, the YWCA reports. A recent study found that more than half of domestic violence families in Kitsap County were either homeless or imminently homeless.

“Sadly, choosing to leave an abuser often means choosing homelessness,” said Denise Frey, executive director of YWCA Kitsap County. “Stable, affordable housing such as Morrow Manor is a game-changer as we strengthen survivors’ pathways to brighter futures.”

Morrow Manor is being built in a peaceful, forested area of Poulsbo, adjacent to a public park and located near schools, public transportation, shopping, and higher education. Survivors will be able to stay for up to six years as they go about the work of rebuilding their lives.

The YWCA will provide ongoing support services (job counseling, financial skills training, goal setting, support groups, legal services, etc.) as families pay rent on a sliding scale and work toward self-sufficiency. Children in those families will be able to stay in the same schools, play at the park, ride their bikes in the neighborhood, and have their friends over, all with the support of a stable, caring community.

To date, more than $1.3 million of the $2.1 million needed to build Morrow Manor has been raised. Early critical gifts: $500,000 from the C. Keith Birkenfeld Memorial Trust, a $100,000 challenge grant from Tim Ryan Properties of Poulsbo, a sizable but undisclosed amount from the estate of Sandra Boro Hill, and a $50,000 challenge grant from the Bainbridge Island Rotary Club.