Domestic violence prevention center in Hyannis to build with federal grant

BARNSTABLE — A federal grant of $3.46 million has been awarded to Independence House, Cape Cod's leading domestic and sexual violence emergency housing resource, counseling and advocacy center, U.S. Rep. William Keating, D-Massachusetts, announced in a press conference Thursday morning.

“I have been working on domestic violence issues for almost six decades,” Keating said, noting efforts in his roles at the county and state levels before being elected to Congress.

The funding will allow the agency on Bassett Lane in Hyannis to construct a new counseling and resource center next to the current office.

The award is the largest of 21 projects adopted last year in the state through Community Project Funding, a new concept that cuts through red tape to get money where it's needed, Keating told Independence House staff and board members and county officials at the Barnstable County complex.

The award is part of the Omnibus Spending Bill of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 that was passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law by President Biden in December, and supported by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, and U.S. Sen. Edward Markey, D-Massachusetts. The senators sent statements to the Thursday event that were read by aides.

Executive Director Lysetta Hurge-Putnam describes what the award means for Independence House

“This award is momentous and transformative,” Independence House Executive Director Lysetta Hurge-Putnam said at the event.

The size of the award sends a resounding message of the importance of the agency, Hurge-Putnam said.

“Every county must have a survivor facility,” she said.

From 2021:Severe domestic violence cases on the rise during pandemic

In the past year, there were two documented homicides on Cape Cod linked to domestic violence, Hurge-Putnam said. Generally, one in three women and one in four men in Massachusetts were victims of domestic violence, she said.

Independence House, across four locations on Cape Cod, is “a lighthouse and a refuge,” she said.

The nonprofit provides a 24/7 hotline, and help for teens in unhealthy relationships, along with housing, legal assistance and basic needs for individuals and families.

“We aspire to restore smiles to children,” Hurge-Putnam said.

Why does Independence House need money for a new building?

The building where Independence House is based no longer meets its needs, Hurge-Putnam said.

The new, 2,700-square-foot building will include energy efficient construction, Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, and increased and adequate space, safety and privacy to help new clients, and provide additional services for existing clients. The new space, under discussion for three years, will include an expanded and upgraded accessible food pantry, therapeutic art space to aid healing and enhanced well-being, specialized therapeutic spaces to support the mental health and safety needs for adults and children exposed to domestic and sexual violence, and tailored services to support most underserved individuals, according to Independence House.

Keating stressed at the press conference that the funding was intended to focus on the issue itself, where he said 20 people a minute in the United States suffer from physical abuse from a domestic partner, with a total of 10 million victims. “This is something you live with your whole life,” he said.

“I fought for rape kits,” Keating said, referring to his previous jobs. Among those jobs, he was Norfolk District attorney from 1999 to 2020.

Progress has been made in criminal justice with more police trained in domestic abuse issues, he said.

Nineteen percent of domestic incidents involve a weapon, where the risk of homicide increases by 500% that brings in the issue of gun violence.

Partnerships with Cape and Islands District Attorney Robert Galibois, Barnstable County Sheriff Donna Buckley

In a brief discussion after the award, Cape and Islands District Attorney Rob Galibois and Barnstable County Sheriff Donna Buckley touched on the pervasiveness of domestic violence and its effects.

Domestic violence is the most unreported crime, Galibois said. His office prosecuted just over 1,000 cases last year, which he said meant that 90% of the 10,000 incidents went unreported. His office’s domestic violence unit works with Independence House.

The sheriff’s office has a long partnership with Independence House in assisting victims, Buckley said. Large percentages of inmates at Barnstable County Correctional Facility have either current or past restraining orders against them, she said. “We need to work with the inmates while they are here,” she said.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Federal money pays for new domestic violence center in Hyannis