Aurora violence shelter closing as state aid is cut
On Monday, 400 pairs of women's and children's shoes will festoon the wrought-iron fence around the offices of Mutual Ground Inc. shelter in Aurora.
They will represent the women and children who won't be able to turn to the agency for emergency shelter from violent partners, come July 1.
Mutual Ground is closing its 28-bed shelter then, due to losing $300,000 in state aid for domestic violence services. That's half of what it normally gets.
"I am making a statement," said Linda Healy, the agency's executive director.
Mutual Ground relies on funding from the state Department of Human Services for 34 percent of its budget. Besides the shelter, it provides legal and medical counseling to victims of domestic abuse, and support services for victims of sexual assault and abuse. It also conducts preventive classes at local schools.
The agency will also close its 24-hour hotline overnight and weekends. And the agency will cut pay for its 46 full- and part-time workers by 10 percent. Closing the shelter will save about $200,000, she said.
The agency serves people from Geneva south through Aurora, Kendall County, Elburn and Sugar Grove. The next closest shelters are run by Family Shelter Services of DuPage County, and the Community Crisis Center in Elgin.
In 2008, 430 women and children stayed at the shelter. The hotline handled 18,781 calls. Overall, it provided services to 1,410 new domestic violence clients.
"These women are really going to be at risk," said Healy. (The agency also serves men; they account for 2 to 3 percent of clientele, and when they need emergency shelter, are put up in a hotel.)
Mutual Ground receives donations from hundreds of individuals, church groups and local philanthropic groups. When asked if these donors would be upset by the closing of the shelter, Healy said, "I think they need to be outraged. We can't wait until November (for the next regularly scheduled legislative session). We are talking about lives. ... It's just draconian."