POULSBO — The Bainbridge Island Rotary Club announced its commitment this week to support the Morrow Manor Campaign to Build Brighter Tomorrows with a $50,000 matching challenge gift.
The Bainbridge Island Rotary Club is the first Rotary Club in the region beyond the project’s lead club of Poulsbo Rotary to step up with a major pledge for the construction of long-term housing for survivors of domestic violence.
Rotarian Don Maninno chairs the club’s Huney Committee, which voted to designate the significant donation to the construction of Morrow Manor, a partnership project of the Poulsbo Rotary Club and the YWCA of Kitsap County.
“With this challenge pledge, the Bainbridge Island Rotary Club is pleased to express its support of Morrow Manor, and the impact Rotary Clubs and others in our region can have to break the cycle of domestic violence and alleviate the struggle of domestic violence survivors as they rebuild their lives,” Maninno said in an announcement of the challenge gift.
“We are hoping that our matching challenge gift of $50,000 will inspire the community to raise the next $50,000, and this will be met with enthusiasm by other clubs, organizations, or individuals wishing to step forward to join us.”
Campaign director Elsa Watson, a Bainbridge Island resident, added, “Gifts like this one from Bainbridge express that domestic violence and the desire to make positive change is everywhere in our communities. Domestic violence is one of the leading causes of homelessness in our county. Morrow Manor will combat that problem by offering longer-term, supportive housing. This is a model solution that is proven to create lasting change, and it will impact lives for generations to come.”
The Morrow Manor project’s Campaign to Build Brighter Tomorrows is under the direction of the non-profit Poulsbo-North Kitsap Rotary Foundation, and it aims to raise $2.1 million to construct much-needed longer-term supportive housing for domestic violence survivors. In October 2015, the C. Keith Birkenfeld Memorial Trust made a lead gift of $500,000. Tim Ryan Properties of Poulsbo also pledged and recently fulfilled its total of $100,000 as a challenge gift to the project. The estate of Sandra Boro Hill gifted an undisclosed amount to Morrow Manor, and many other donors have stepped up as well, according to the campaign.
The Morrow Manor project is a collaboration between the Poulsbo-North Kitsap Rotary Club and the YWCA of Kitsap County. For nearly 20 years, the two organizations have worked together to ensure services exist for domestic violence victims and survivors.
Morrow Manor is a planned eight-unit community that will provide long-term supportive housing for domestic violence survivors and their children. It will be located on 2.3 forested acres on Noll Road; the acreage was donated, and a portion of the property was set aside for a city park.
Advocates say the need for such housing is great.
The duplexes will be named in honor of Ardis Morrow, a longtime proponent for change in domestic violence laws and an advocate for DV services in the county. She is the founder of Eli’s House, a duplex of transitional homes in Poulsbo named in memory of her great-grandnephew, a 3-year-old who died after being kicked by his father in 1986. The other transitional housing is Tersha’s House in Silverdale, named for Tersha Jo Brown, who was shot to death by her boyfriend in Sacramento in 2009.
The YWCA ALIVE Shelter provides temporary emergency housing for women and children affected by domestic violence, but in 2013 was unable to provide shelter or housing for 1,020 women and children because of lack of capacity. (Jackie Brown, director of YWCA’s shelter and housing programs, said when the shelter is full, YWCA reaches out to shelters statewide).
In the “supportive housing” model of Morrow Manor, residents can stay on a sliding scale of affordable rents for up to six years while they rebuild their lives. The YWCA of Kitsap County will provide ongoing advocacy and other support services to help survivors build sustainable futures with access and avenues to education and careers.
By comparison, the average stay at the YWCA’s 17-bed ALIVE shelter is 65 days. Stays in the four family units of Eli’s Place and Tersha’s House average up to 24 months.
To date, the Campaign for Brighter Tomorrows is on its way to meeting the overall goal of $2.1 million, with $1 million committed so far. Construction timelines are subject to progress on the capital campaign but those involved are optimistic that time will be shortened as more and more funders step forward to participate. Area Rotary Clubs, family foundations, businesses, churches and other civic organizations as well as individual donors are coming forth to consider support.
Go to www.supportmorrowmanor.org shares campaign news, project details, and giving opportunities. Contact with the campaign can also be made through info@supportmorrowmanor.org.
