Every Woman's Place moves to donated Muskegon building

Every Woman's Place is in the final stages of moving its non-residential services to an 8,732-square-foot building gifted by law firm Parmenter O'Toole.

The Muskegon nonprofit provides free services such as support groups, counseling, advocacy services and emergency shelter for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Shelter services will remain at 1221 W. Laketon, while all administrative and non-residential services will move to the new building at 175 W. Apple in June.

"The 'under one roof' concept worked at one time, but in this scenario, it's safer for shelter clients not to have all of the admin and other activity going on around them," says Christina Scarpino, director of development, Every Woman's Place.

Half of the organization's 100 employees will move to the new building after a new furnace and roof are installed. Other than those two improvements, Scarpino says the building is move-in ready, aided by the law firm's donation of furniture, cubicles and file cabinets.

Every Woman's Place had initially wanted to purchase the W. Apple building, which had been vacant since 2006. But when the nonprofit's $5 million capital campaign fell short of its goal, Parmenter O'Toole offered to donate the building.

"We are continuously over capacity with our domestic violence residential services," Scarpino says of the 18-bed facility, which typically has 25 to 30 women and children in need of shelter.

Scarpino says the addition of the W. Laketon building will ease some capacity concerns, making room for future expansions while providing a safer environment for victims seeking refuge.

Source: Christina Scarpino, Every Woman's Place
Writer: Kelly Quintanilla